Breakaway
by smilinjuss4u
Summary: This fic takes place approximately twelve years after the end of Meet Me at the Chuppah. Will Danes has lived in his father’s shadow his entire life. Tensions rise as the younger Luke Danes realizes it's not so easy to breakaway.
1. A Great Man

_**Breakaway**_

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Set-up: This fic takes place approximately twelve years after the end of _Meet Me at the Chuppah_. Will Danes has lived in his father's shadow his entire life. But just because he looked like Luke and worked with Luke, doesn't mean he wants to _be_ Luke. Tensions will rise as the younger Luke Danes plans to breakaway from the prying eyes and expectations of Stars Hollow and become his own man.**

**Chapter 1- A Great Man**

The world is losing a great man today. He wasn't a war hero or sports icon. He didn't cure a fatal disease or make a miraculous discovery. He wasn't a successful businessman whose name appeared in the financial pages of _New York Times_ or _Wall Street Journal._ He wasn't a celebrity. He was a simple man that loved his wife and children with all his heart until the day that he died.

He coached his sons' baseball teams, attended every play and recital his children were in or a part of, and read every article his daughter wrote. He treated every day with his wife like it was their anniversary. He did everything he could for his children. He was a generous man that did things for people not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He was proud of everything he was and didn't care to be the things he wasn't.

My father was a great man because he was a simple man. He was the all-American man. I bear his name with great pride. My name is Lucas William Danes Jr. and today I want to tell you about the great man the world is losing.

* * *

Luke sighed watched the world pass him by through the windows of his diner. He'd lived in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut all his life. In the fifty-five years he'd been alive, he watched people come and go. Babies were born. People died. Families moved to and away. The faces in town changed, but like the town itself, the people never did. Majority of the eccentric townspeople were children or relatives of past residence, keeping the family name on the town census. Even the Doose name would carry on. Travis Doose, Taylor's nephew, took over Doose's and the ice cream parlor when Taylor decided to retire. But the name that would forever be tied to Stars Hollow was Danes. 

Most of the credit for that belonged to Luke. The first honor came almost eight years ago. As his last act as town selectman, Taylor declared Luke's Diner as a historical town landmark for twenty-five years of being in business. It was the longest running business in town after a fire took out Doose's Market for almost a year. Then there was the fact that Luke was going down in the town record books as the resident to live longest in town with a fifty-five year run. Bootsy left town for three years after the fire that took out Doose's destroyed his news stand. Remembering the fire depressed Luke. Death reeked everywhere in this town.

Luke shook his head, leaving the recesses of his mind when he heard the bells above the diner jingle. He looked up to see his oldest son Will and three of his friends walk in. Luke sighed as he rolled up the sleeves to his dress shirt and loosened his tie. Time to work.

"She was five," Sam Lawson remarked as they sat at one of the tables in the empty diner.

"Already? No way," Josh Melville said. "Is it five already?"

"Mr. Flanks was one, two was Doris Henderson, and three and four were the Rupert twins."

"I don't think we can count Mrs. Gilmore," Lena Forrester, Dean's daughter, remarked.

"I agree with Lena. My grandmother didn't even live in Stars Hollow," Will said. "We can't count her as one of the Fatal Five."

Luke nearly dropped the coffee pot in his hands when he heard his son. "Lucas William Danes," he said in a scolding tone. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What I do?"

"Your grandmother _just _died. It hasn't even been an hour since the funeral and you're already disrespecting her by making her one of this crazy town's superstitious statistics. What if your mother walked in and heard you? You know she's heart broken about all this."

"We were just…"

"Well don't. Show a little respect and don't." Luke turned to Josh. "And you. I thought you'd know better. You're the oldest of this group, so lead by example."

"Yes sir," Josh said, lowering his head in shame. "I'm…I'm sorry sir."

"Yeah, sorry," Sam added. He dare not look Luke in the eye. He was afraid of Will's father more than anything.

"I apologize Mr. Danes. We meant no harm," Lena said.

"It's ok. Just…don't talk about it. Will, Josh, why don't you guys go grab some drinks for yourselves and your friends."

"Thanks Pop," Will said as he and Seth went behind the counter.

Luke walked behind the counter and started to wipe down the counter. He made circular motions with his rag over the area he always seemed to clean. He always wiped that area when he had something on his mind. The smoothness and shine of the particular area told the world Luke Danes always had something on his mind. And today, it was Emily Gilmore.

After a three year battle with Alzheimer's disease, the prominent Emily Gilmore had died. Lorelai took it very hard. She and her mother had gotten very close over the years. They'd slowly created a healthy mother-daughter relationship, only to have it end abruptly. It was one thing to lose her mother, but because of her illness, Emily could barely remember who Lorelai when she passed away. To have their relationship end that way devastated Lorelai. She knew Emily had no control over that fact, but it still hurt.

Will knew the hell his mother was going through and Luke couldn't believe his son could be so insensitive at a time like this. Just then, Lorelai walked into the diner. Luke stopped what he was doing and watched his wife make her way to the counter and hop onto a stool.

"Hey," he greeted. "Coffee?"

"Please," she replied softly.

He poured his wife some coffee and sat beside her at the counter. "How you feeling?"

"Tired." She brought the cup up to her lips and was about to take a sip, but put it down. "She couldn't even remember me."

"Lorelai…"

"The last time I saw my mother, she didn't even know who I was."

"She had Alzheimer's. That's what it does."

"I know. It's just…I wanted her to know me. I wanted her to remember."

Luke glanced quickly at his son. He wanted Will to see his mother like this. He wanted him to feel guilty for talking about his deceased grandmother in the fashion he had. And it worked. Will felt awful. He immediately regretted even mentioning the Stars Hollow Fatal Five. He should have had more respect for Emily Gilmore than that.

"I'm sure she tried very hard to remember you. I mean, it must have been really hard to forget a woman like you in the first place." Lorelai let out a soft chuckle. Luke reached out and put his hand over hers. "I know I couldn't." He gave her hand a little squeeze.

"Thank you."

"Anytime. You hungry? I'll make you anything you want."

"Even a double cheese burger with bacon and eggs in it with a side of chili fries topped off with carne asada and really, really hot jalapeños?"

"Yeah. Do you really want that?"

"God no. I'm not that crazy."

"Good," Luke laughed. "It would have given you a heart attack. It would have given _me_ a heart attack just for cooking it!"

"Can I have that?" Sam asked.

"Shut up Sam," Will said, throwing a napkin at his friend.

"You guys hungry over there?" Luke asked.

"We're fine boss," Josh replied. He had taken up at job at Luke's after school. Sookie wanted him to be a chef, but working at the diner wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

Luke nodded and turned his attention back to Lorelai. "What do you _really_ want to eat?"

"Nothing. I'm not that hungry."

"You haven't eaten in two days."

"I can't keep anything down. You think it's a sign?"

"Yeah. It's a sign that you've been eating food that isn't good for you over the last twenty-five years and you need to eat healthier."

"I can't believe you're pulling the 'eat healthier' crap on the day of my mother's funeral."

"At least it's not on the day of my daughter's funeral."

"Huh? What are you…oh you're good. You're real good."

Luke leaned over the counter and kissed Lorelai softly on the lips. "Go home and get some sleep. I'll be there in a few hours."

"What would I do without you Luke Danes?"

"Probably starve. Now go." He kissed her again. "I love you Crazy Lady."

"I love you too Coffee Man."

Luke watched as Lorelai walked out of the diner and continued to watch her until she was out of sight. He prayed everything would work itself out. He knew this wasn't one of those situations you can just fix in a few days, but he needed it to be ok. Otherwise, he didn't know how his family was going to get by. To get his mind off of things, he began to go through his receipts, involuntarily listening in on the group of teenagers.

"Guess what I saw in the school trophy case the other day," Sam said.

"Just tell us," Josh sighed.

"There was a plaque with Luke 'Butch' Danes on it."

"So?"

"I'm just wondering what Will's dad's picture was doing in a Stars Hollow High trophy case."

"My dad _went_ to Stars Hollow High you idiot," Will said rolling his eyes.

"But you go to Chilton."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think Sam is trying to say if your dad went to Stars Hollow Higj, why doesn't he send you there? Did your mom go to Chilton?" Lena asked.

"My mom went to a prep school in Hartford, but not Chilton. I go to Chilton because Rory went to Chilton."

"Who's Rory?" Sam asked.

"His sister stupid," Josh replied. "Isn't it kinda weird to have a sister that's twenty-one years older than you with no siblings in between?"

"Wait, Rory's thirty-seven? Your mom's fifty-three, so that would mean she had Rory when she was…"

"Sixteen," Will interjected with a sigh.

"I thought your parents met when your mom was twenty-seven," Lena remarked.

"They did." Will looked down at his hands. "Rory has a, uh, different…dad."

"Whoa. What's it like to have a half-sister?" Sam asked.

"What's it like to have half a brain?" Will snapped.

Luke looked up from what he was doing. Rory's paternity was a touchy subject with Will. It had been ever since he was three, when he found out Luke wasn't Rory's father. He didn't like the idea that his parents could have ended up with different people. Knowing that, Luke and Lorelai decided not to tell their children Lorelai was once engaged to their "Uncle" Max or that Luke's second most serious relationship was with their beloved "Aunt" Rachel. They _definitely_ didn't tell them about Luke's first marriage to Nicole.

"I was just wondering," Sam said, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. "You don't have to be a jerk about it. Can I just ask one question?"

"If I say no, you'll ask anyway," Will remarked.

"Does your dad treat her differently because he's not her kid?"

"Hey, Rory _is _my dad's daughter. He helped my mom raise her. Not Christopher."

"Who?" Josh asked.

"Christopher Hayden, Rory's biological father. My dad treats Rory like the rest of us. He loves her, therefore, he treats her the same. Can we please talk about something else now?"

Josh, Sam, and Lena agreed. As his friends began to talk about something else, Will thought about what he had told his friends about how Luke treated Rory. The more he thought about it, the more he realized something. It wasn't that Luke treated Rory differently. He treated Will differently. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad at the moment, but his father did indeed treat him differently.

"No, you can't do that!" Josh stated, shaking his head. "You can't count him."

"Yeah Sam, I don't think you can," Lena agreed.

"Why not? He lived here his whole life. Why can't we count him?" Sam asked.

"Because Sparky was Mr. Jensen's dog," Will laughed as Luke brought over refills. "You can't count animals, only people. Right Pop?"

"Don't drag me into this," Luke said. "This 'Fatal Five' stuff is a load of crap. There aren't any weird astronomical, cosmic beings controlling the universe, deciding who lives and dies and _how many_ people live and die in this town. The only greater being I believe in is the Lord Almighty and I don't think he's wasting his time picking out which five Stars Hollow residents to kill off. The Fatal Five is just another crazy theory in this whacked out town."

"Mom's the one that came up with it."

"I rest my case. The fact that your mother came up with the theory just makes it even crazier." With that, Luke headed back behind the counter as the teenagers continued their discussion. They concluded it they were only up to four and there would be one more death in town. As they speculated who the fifth would be, Luke let out a long sigh. Death made him depressed and right now, it reeked everywhere.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Luke and Lorelai talk about Richard. Rory and Logan argue about Rory's plans for the future. Will begins to drift from his dad. Luke and Lorelai's youngest children, Lana and Richie, will be introduced._**

**A/N: I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "You killed off Luke already! What the heck is wrong with you? Insert profanity here!" For those lighting their torches and sharpening their pitchforks, I say this to you: Not everything is as it seems. It's still early, you never know what's going to happen. No one does. Well, I do, but I'm writing the story.**

_Edit: I just realized that "Seth" wasn't the name I gave to Sookie's kid. Lol. It was Josh (after my brother) so I'm correcting it._


	2. Breakfast

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 2- Breakfast**

Luke poured Lorelai a cup of coffee before getting a glass of orange juice and sitting across from her at the small table. Every morning, after feeding and sending their children to school, Luke and Lorelai would retreat upstairs to his old apartment to share an intimate, quiet breakfast before having to rush off for a long, busy day at work. They didn't always talk to each other during this time. They would just sit and enjoy each other's company without having to rush off to pry their kids apart or clean up whatever they just broke in the other room. In fact, they only held a conversation an average of two out of the five days they shared these breakfasts. The only sounds heard were the utensils clinking against the plates and bowls and the crunching sound Luke's Cheerios made as he ate them. In fact, they held a conversation an average of two out of the five days they shared these breakfast. Today seemed to be one of the days they didn't speak. That is, until Lorelai broke the silence.

"Dad came over before you got home last night," Lorelai said suddenly.

"Yeah? How's he holding up?" Luke asked.

"He's doing better." She looked down and played with the bacon and eggs on her plate. "He's thinking of coming out of retirement."

He froze and looked up at his wife, his spoonful of Cheerios in mid air. "Are you serious? He wants to come out of retirement _again_?"

"Yeah. Mr. Stiles let him keep the Gilmore Center, so he thought he'd open new offices…here…in Stars Hollow."

Luke put his spoon back into his bowl. "You mean to tell me your seventy-eight year old father is going to come out of retirement and open new offices in this town?"

"He needs something to do," she nearly snapped, feeling slightly angry that Luke sounded like he disapproved. "He _needs_ to stay active and keep himself busy. With Mom go…" Lorelai stopped herself from finishing her sentence. It was still too painful to say. Her voice softened. "He needs something to do and he likes to work, so he's going to open offices here so he can be closer to us." She looked down at her plate again and took a few deep breaths.

Luke reached across the table and held Lorelai's hand. "I didn't mean for it to sound like I didn't want Richard to come out of retirement. I think it's a great idea. He does need something to do to keep his mind off of things and this way we can see him everyday instead of just Friday night."

Lorelai looked up. "You really think it's a good idea?"

"I think it's what Emily would have wanted."

She smiled weakly. "Thank you."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "Anytime." He took his hand back and started to munch on his cereal. "Has he started to look for office space?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, I can take an afternoon off and help him look around."

"Really? Aw Luke, that'd mean a lot to me."

"Just say the word and I'm there."

"Ok. I'll give him a call today and set it up." She stood and put her jacket on.

"You have to go already?"

"Unfortunately. I'll call you later?"

"Yeah," he sighed as he stood. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"You're bringing it to the inn?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you then." Luke put his arm around Lorelai's waist and pulled her in for a kiss. "You bring the food and I'll bring the dessert. Am I'm not talking about cake."

"Dirty. I'll see you later Crazy Lady."

"Until then Coffee Man. One more for the road." She kissed him one more time before walking out the door.

* * *

Across town, Logan and Rory were also having breakfast together in silence. Their silence wasn't anything like Luke and Lorelai's. It was an unwelcome silence full of awkwardness and tension. When Emily's condition got worse, Rory spent less and less time on her articles. Logan understood she needed to be with her grandmother and time to mourn after her passing. As a husband, he supported his wife's decision to take extra time off. But as her boss, he felt the weight she left behind. He desperately picked up the slack in his offices and tried to fill in the open column she left. He spent longer hours at the office and came home cranky and irritated. They didn't speak at breakfast because they both knew they were walking on thin ice. The slightest misunderstanding would blow up horribly in their faces. 

"How's Richard?" Logan asked, hoping to have found a safe subject.

"He's fine," Rory replied. "He's coming out of retirement."

"That's good."

"I guess."

"Anything new happening with the kids' school?"

"Hope's in the school play. They're doing _Fiddler on the Roof._"

"That's good. When is it?"

"In three weeks. Friday night."

"I'll try to make it." Rory nodded. "So…when do you plan on coming back to work?"

Rory let out a sigh. "I don't know."

"You've been saying that for two weeks."

"My grandmother just died Logan."

"The standard leave for this type of situation is one week, two tops. You haven't been to work in a month."

"I'm not ready."

"Your mother's already working again. And from what I hear, your grandfather is planning to come out of retirement."

"What do you want me from me?"

"I want you to come back to work. I can't keep picking up the slack. Typical leave is two weeks Rory. As your boss, I'm asking you to come back."

"I'm your wife!"

"And you've been using that to your own advantage. You're slipping up just because you go to bed with me every night." Logan regretted saying that the second it came out of his mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. We're both really stressed out right now…"

"I don't want to go back to work. Not now, not ever."

"I'm sorry," Logan said as he scratched his head. "What?"

"I don't want to work anymore."

"You don't wanna work anymore?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because."

"'Because' isn't an answer Rory." When Rory said nothing, Logan grew angry and began to shout. "I can't do this alone Rory! I can't support this family by myself! You swore to me I wouldn't have to."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry ok?"

"No. It's not ok! When we got married you loved your job! We traveled the world and you wrote amazing articles that blew people away. What happened? What happened to the passionate woman I married?"

Rory shook her head. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I…I can't." She stood and quickly left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Logan alone at the table.

* * *

Luke walked home after Lane helped him close up for the night. After all these years, Lane Kim-Rygalski was still working for him. When he got home, Will and Emma were sitting on the couch watching TV. They turned around when they heard their father enter the house. 

"Hey Daddy," Emma greeted.

"Hey sweetie," Luke said as he walked over to the couch. "Whatcha watching?"

"Some old show that was on before we were born," Will replied. "_The Outer Limits_ or something. It's weird."

"I used to watch that show when I was…" Luke trailed off before his kids thought their dad was a geek- well, _bigger_ geek. "Where's Lana and Richie?"

"Upstairs in their rooms. I think Richie's sleeping," Emma replied.

"You guys hungry?"

"I cooked something," Will said, his attention on the TV.

"Your mom eat?"

"Nope," Emma replied.

"Ok. Thanks for taking care of things guys. I appreciate it." Luke sighed as he took a seat in his reclining chair. "With everything going on…it's hard you know? We're all trying to get through this in our own way. I know I haven't been spending a lot of time with you guys lately and I'm sorry if you feel like I'm ignoring you or neglecting you." Will and Emma stared at their father. "If you guys need to, um, talk… about, uh, stuff…I'm…"

"We know Pop," Will interrupted. "We're fine."

"Ok." Luke walked over to the couch and kissed each of his kids on top of their heads. "I love you guys. Remember that ok?"

"Always Daddy," Emma smiled.

"Don't stay up too late. It's a school night."

With that, Luke went upstairs to check on his two youngest children and his wife. His first stop was Lana's room. He tapped on the door with the sign "Lana" hanging on it. He waited a few seconds before walking into his youngest daughter's room.

Alana Grace Danes was Luke and Lorelai's eight year old daughter. When Lorelai was pregnant with Lana, Rory, Sookie, Joan, Lane, _and_ Rachel were also pregnant. It was hell on Luke, Logan, Jackson, Jess, and Max. Because all their wives were pregnant, they couldn't hide at each other's houses from the crazy pregnant women. The six children were born within three weeks of each other. Lorelai, Sookie, and Lane had girls and Rory, Joan, and Rachel had boys.

Luke walked over to Lana's form, laying on her side facing the opposite wall and wrapped up in her Disney Princess comforter. "Hey, Lana booger, you awake?" he called softly.

"I'm not a booger Daddy!" Lana laughed as she faced her father.

"And you're not sleeping either."

"I was waiting for you. You were supposed to read me a bedtime story."

"I know. I'm sorry. Would you like me to read you one now?"

"It's ok. Mommy read to me already. She's funny."

"So I hear. How about I read to you tomorrow night?"

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart."

"Okie dokie."

"It's a date." Luke pulled the covers over her and kissed her forehead. "Night cupcake."

"Night Daddy." Luke turned off the light before leaving the room.

Then it was off to Richie's room. Luke and Lorelai had planned to stop having children after Lana, but four years after Lana was born, when Lorelai was in her late forties and Luke fifty, they were surprised to find out that Lorelai was once again pregnant. Richard Charles Danes, better known as Richie or Chip, was their miracle baby. Because of his parents' age, doctors didn't think he would survive. They didn't even think Lorelai would carry him to term. Lorelai did carry the baby the nine month term, but not without complications. There had been trouble during the actual birth.

Lorelai went into labor and constantly said she was in terrible pain. Luke tried to comfort his wife, by holding her hand and kissing her as he told her everything was going to be fine. When they were in the delivery room, the doctors said something about having trouble getting the baby out. Then they kicked Luke out of the room. He had never been so scared in his life than that very moment. First the doctor said something about the possibility of the baby being a still born. Then they said the baby might survive, but they could lose Lorelai. And at one point, the most frightening to Luke, the doctors said that they could lose both Lorelai and the baby. He nearly died the moment they told him. He yelled at the doctors to allow him to be with his wife, but he, like the others, would have to wait in the waiting room for the news.

Of course, both Lorelai and the baby had survived. Unfortunately, because his parents were at an age where they shouldn't have children and the difficult pregnancy, Richie was born with a hearing impairment. He wasn't completely deaf, but it was hard for him to hear things. Everything sounded distant and muffled, like he was underwater. He and his family learned to do sign language in case Richie's disability got worse or he didn't learn to speak. When Richie spoke, he sounded as clear as any child his age. He signed more than he spoke and when he did speak, it wasn't much. Sometimes, he looked lost and scared. There had even been times he'd sit on the floor, hug his knees, and cry until Luke or Lorelai came to get him.

Luke walked into the bedroom to find Richie fast asleep. He was laying across the middle of h is bed so Luke went to straighten him up and tuck him in. Richie woke in the process. He looked up at Luke with his bright blue eyes and blinked a few times before smiling.

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Luke apologized. "Just go back to sleep ok?"

Richie raised an eyebrow, telling his father he didn't hear what he had just said. Luke signed what he had said and Richie nodded. Luke signed "Good night" and "I love you" and Richie returned the gesture. Luke placed a kiss on Richie's cheek before leaving the room.

Luke headed to the master bedroom down the hall. Lorelai was already in bed reading a magazine. She looked up when she heard him come in. She watched him as he undressed and put on a clean shirt and sweats. They talked about their day and about what was going on in their children's lives. Soon, they decided to turn in and said good night. Luke turned off the lamp on his night stand and let out a sigh when he finally got comfortable. He shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep. Lorelai, on the other hand, continued to stare at her husband.

"Luke?" she called.

"Yeah?" he asked, not opening his eyes.

"I wanna go first."

"Go where?" She said nothing, but the idea soon sank into his mind. His eyes flew open and he immediately sat up. "Lorelai…"

"That time you took me to the hospital to see my dad after he had a heart attack at the family Christmas party, Mom told him she wanted to go first. Well, I want to go first."

"You can't call dying first. It doesn't work that way."

"I don't wanna go through what Dad is going through now." Lorelai was near tears. "He's miserable Luke. He misses Mom so much."

Luke held Lorelai. "Sh. It's ok. It's ok honey."

"I don't wanna know what that feels like Luke. Never."

"You won't. I promise, you won't. Tell you what. Why don't we go together?"

Lorelai pulled away from Luke and looked up at him hopefully. "Can we do that?"

"Our love can do anything we want. And if we want to die with each other, then we will."

Lorelai rested her head on Luke's shoulder and hugged his torso. "I love you Luke."

"I love you too Lorelai." He kissed the top of her head and held her until she fell asleep.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Luke helps Richard look for office space in Stars Hollow. Lorelai finds out Logan and Rory are fighting, but doesn't know why. Will gets into trouble at school. Emma becomes interested in the new bag boy at Doose's- who she later finds out is off limits._**

**A/N: One of Richard II's nick names is Chip so if any of the characters talk to Richie and call him "Chip", know it's Richie. If you're wondering where I got Chip from, it's from Charles. I have a friend named Charles and we called him Chip for some reason. Ok and as for the Luke thing…ok I can't say anything without giving away too much. Just know I LOVE LUKE and I wouldn't just kill him off. Hint (not really): Keep Luke's little speech toward the end in mind.**


	3. There's something about those bag boys

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 3- There's something about those bag boys**

"It shouldn't be too hard to find a place around here," Luke remarked as he and Richard walked down the street. "I know all the business owners and land lords in town, so I'll probably be able to get you a good deal out of it too."

"You would have made a great business man," Richard laughed.

"Maybe. But I never was one for suits and ties. I think I own two."

"That's how many outfit I own that aren't suits."

"Well, not much suit work goes around here. You might actually be the first."

"Well, I feel honored."

"Ok. Well, uh, this is the first space I wanted to show you. This used to be Bootsy's newsstand. Bootsy never reopened it after the fire and the property has been open since."

"Not a lot of light here."

"Actually, it gets too much light in the morning and when late afternoon rolls around, there's practically no natural light. I wasn't too sure where you stood on natural lighting, so I showed you it anyway."

"I'll pass."

"Ok. Right this way then." Luke led them down the street. "This office used to be law offices, but there hasn't been a crime in town for over forty years so they packed up and left. Now you get good lighting here, but the space is kinda narrow."

"How narrow?"

"You have room for one desk and a few book shelves. Even that's pushing it though. I mean, you might as take the place next to my old apartment."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"What sounds like a good idea?"

"The space next to your old apartment. Maybe I should just take it."

"Oh. No. You don't want that space. It's small. And you'd have to go through the diner or the back entrance of the building to get to it. And you might, uh, hear…things."

"What do you mean?" Luke gave Richard a knowing look. "Oh. Well, let's keep looking then."

"Good idea."

Luke moved a little faster and refused to look his father-in-law in the eye. After all, he did just hint that he and Lorelai had 'encounters' in his old apartment- obviously frequently during business hours. They looked at a few more places and there still wasn't a place Richard liked.

"Ok, this is the last open space I know of in town," Luke said as they headed toward the place next to the music store. "It's fairly new. Great space, not too narrow and not too wide. The lighting is good. Sunshine in the morning and a view of the stars at night. You'll get a lot of business because it's closer to town square where everyone can see it. If you look right across the street, you see the diner meaning it's only a two minute walk to the house. And it's a decent price for the space. What do you think?"

"I think it's great. You make it sound incredible. If it's so incredible, why hasn't anyone bought it?"

"This is a very small town. The people here get a job and it's what they do for the rest of their lives. Except for Kirk. He has like forty seven, but that's beside the point. Fact of the matter, there wasn't really any desire or need for someone to buy this place and open a new business. It's all been done. Richard, we both know this space is perfect. It's a steal. I say take it."

"Why did you open the diner?"

"I wasn't as passionate as hardware as my father was."

"But you worked for him for years."

"It was my dad. He needed my help, so I helped. After he died, I figured I'd open a business I actually like. I could cook so a diner seemed sensible."

Richard turned to face the building and took a step closer to it. "I always wanted to pass on my business to someone. I knew Lorelai wouldn't, but there was still that glimmer of hope." The older man felt dispirited. He took a deep breath and faced Luke again, putting a smile on his face. "You're an excellent salesman Lucas. I'll take it."

Luke knew what Richard was feeling. He felt sorry for his father-in-law. He didn't want to know what it felt like to start a business with no heir to take over when he was gone. He was glad he had Will to carry on at the diner. At the same time, he felt guilty for feeling happy when Richard had no one. But on the outside, like his father-in-law, Luke kept a smile on his face and acted like everything was ok.

* * *

Lorelai walked into the newspaper offices and looked around for Rory. She spotted Jess first. "Hey stranger," she greeted as she walked up to this desk. 

"Oh, hey Lorelai," Jess smiled as he looked up. "What are you doing here?"

"I was gonna see if Rory could get away for lunch. Hey, are you hungry? Why don't you come along?"

"I'd love to, but unfortunately I'm swamped with work. Maybe next time."

"Ok, but I'm holding you to it."

"You always do."

"So, you think I can steal Rory away?"

"Wouldn't be hard."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Considering she hasn't been to work in nearly a month."

"What?"

"She hasn't been to work since Emily died. Everyone's picking up her assignments and Logan's been putting in more hours. The guy's getting really testy if you ask me. I thought you knew."

"No. Rory's never said a word about this to me. What else about my daughter do you know that I don't know?"

"Between you and me, sounds like they're sorta hitting a rough patch."

"What? About what?"

"No clue. But they really got into it yesterday. I was working late last night and when I left, I passed by the boss's office and there was major yelling going on."

"Rory had dinner with her grandfather last night."

"Phone fight."

"Oh. What was it about?"

"Don't know. I only caught the end of the conversation. It was something about having to work and not coming to dinner on Friday."

"Logan's trying to skip Friday night dinner? Is he crazy?"

"I guess so. I think he's trying to ditch Sunday service to. The lousy bum."

"Work on Sunday. Is it really that bad?"

"Rory was our number one reporter and with her on leave, I don't know if this paper's gonna last very long."

"Oh wow. Ok, I have to get going. Thanks for the scoop."

"Anytime."

"Bye Jess." Lorelai headed for the exit. She passed by Logan's office and took a peek inside. He was sitting behind his desk, his tie loosened and his hair a mess. It killed her to see him like this. It killed her even more to know her daughter was the one doing this to him.

* * *

Max headed to his office. He had returned to Chilton five years ago to take the position as headmaster. He, Rachel, and their kids still lived in Stars Hollow because of the photo studio Rachel opened a few years prior to Max's job offer. He acknowledged his secretary before walking into his office. He sighed when he saw the back of the head of the student. 

"Mr. Danes," he sighed as he made his way behind his oak desk. "We need to stop meeting like this."

"You get your guys to stop sending me here and we won't have to," Will joked.

"And there's that infamous Gilmore wit." Max sat down and picked up the incident report sitting on his desk. "It says here you got into another fight."

"Yeah but…"

"Let me guess. You didn't start it."

"Good, glad we agree. I'll just…" Will started to stand.

"Sit down Mr. Danes," Max instructed. Will sat down. "Why did you hit Mr. Callen?"

"I'm guessing you won't accept the 'He had it coming' excuse." Max shook his head. "How about he tripped and his face landed on my fist?"

"Try again. And let's try the truth this time."

"I hit him because…he came to Stars Hollow yesterday with his dad to talk to Dean Forrester about this construction job Eddie's dad was having done at his office. They met up at the diner and saw my dad. Of course since I look exactly like Pops, Eddie knew who he was."

"So you hit Mr. Callen because you were embarrassed that they saw your father working?"

"No. I'm not embarrassed of my dad. He works hard and does a damn good job at what he does. I hit Eddie because he was making fun of my father. He called him blue collared."

"Well, he is."

"I don't like it when people talk about my family."

"I know that."

"They're all 'Oh cool, you're Richard Gilmore's grandson.' Then when they find out my dad owns a diner, suddenly I'm a nobody. It doesn't matter how hard my dad works. No. It just matters _where_ he works. They make fun of my dad and call me Diner Boy."

"Will, I understand how you're feeling. I know you're angry that they are disrespecting you, your father, and your family, but you can't keep doing this. You can't keep getting into fights. Do you realize you almost broke Mr. Callen's jaw today?"

"I knew his jaw was made of glass if that's what you're asking."

"I can't cut you slack just because I'm friends with your parents."

"I'm not asking you to."

"Good. As for your punishment, you will serve cafeteria duty for one week. I'm not going to call your parents _this time,_ but the next time you're in my office for rough housing I will have no other choice. Is that understood?"

"Yes Headmaster Medina."

"Good. Now go get to class."

Will gathered his things and walked out of the office. On his way to his next class, he thought about what Max had said. He never thought about being embarrassed of what Luke did for a living. It never really mattered…until now. Now that someone knew that his family owned a diner and could make fun of him for it, it made all the difference.

* * *

"He just walked up to him and punched him?" Tiffany Galloway asked as they walked down the aisle in Doose's Market. 

"They exchanged a few insults first, but basically yeah," Emma replied.

Emma, Tiffany Galloway, and Lynn Kirkland had been best friends since they were two. Tiffany was Miss Patty's niece who came to live with her after her father died and her mother became very ill. Lynn's father was a member of the Dragonfly Inn's kitchen staff. They grew up together and up until high school, they went to school together since preschool. As children, they were inseparable. They told each other everything. Today they were helping Emma get some groceries for her parents.

"Will's always had a temper problem," Lynn remarked. "Those preps at your school should know by now."

"They don't know Will like his friends do. At school he sits by himself and reads Shakespeare. He only talks to me and a few guys from the baseball and track teams. He's a loner."

"I can't imagine your brother being a loser," Tiffany joked.

"She said _loner_ not _loser_ Tiff," Lynn said.

"Same difference."

"Oxymoron."

"What did you call me?"

"Tiff, an oxymoron is a figure of speech or expression that contradicts itself. Like bittersweet," Emma explained.

"If you say so," Tiffany said. "Hey, guess who just came back to town."

"Who?" Lynn asked.

"Tyler Doose."

"Really? Didn't he move away like two years ago?"

"Yup. His grandfather on his mom's side got sick and they moved to Maine to take care of him. He died a month ago and his parents decided to move back into town."

"Didn't Tyler eat dirt in kindergarten?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Lynn laughed. "And he had those really thick glasses and talked in that nasally tone. That bugged the hell out of me."

"I bet he looks the same," Tiffany remarked. "The Doose clan isn't exactly known for their good looks."

"Yeah, they're known for bugging my family. My dad in particular," Emma joked. She personally had a strong dislike for Tyler Doose. He always picked on her and made her cry. It was a classic Danes-Doose feud. The three girls turned the corner and Emma froze when she caught sight of the bag boy.

"Well hello there. Check out the goods on the new bag boy," Lynn joked.

"He looks familiar," Emma remarked. "Doesn't he look familiar?"

"Is familiar the new word for hot? Because he is hot," Tiffany joked.

"I'll let Paul know you think so," Lynn teased.

"I'm just looking."

"Seriously guys, he looks really familiar," Emma stated. She knew she had seen him before- after all, she lived in Stars Hollow where everyone seriously knows your name along with your family history- but she couldn't remember from where.

"I don't know, but I have to get going," Lynn said. "I've got a lot of homework and I need to get home if I'm going to pretend to do it."

"I need to go too. I told Paul I'd meet him at Luke's for a burger," Tiffany said.

"I'm gonna check out, then I have to get to the inn to help my mom," Emma said.

They said their goodbyes and Tiffany and Lynn left while Emma proceeded to the check out stand. When she got to the register, the bag boy looked up at her and smiled. His name wasn't even printed on his name tag.

"Hi," Emma greeted to be polite. He was cuter up close.

"Hey," he greeted. "Nice outfit. Very 'Hit me baby one more time'."

Emma cursed herself for still being in her Chilton uniform. "It's my school uniform."

"I deduced that."

"You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Are you new in town?"

"Sorta."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He was about to answer when Taylor Doose interrupted him. "Emily!" Taylor called as he walked over to them. "Emily, I'm so glad you're here."

Emma put a smile on her face and faced Taylor. "Good afternoon Mr. Doose. I was just picking up some groceries for my mom and dad. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes there is. I've been trying to get a hold of your father all day. I tried calling your house, the diner, and his cell phone, but he isn't answering or returning my calls."

"He's helping my grandfather look for office space in town, but I'm sure he'll get back to you as soon as he can."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "Would you let him know it's very important that I speak with him? I need to talk to him about renewing the lease for the ice cream parlor and something else that is _very_ important."

"Um, shouldn't Mr. Travis Doose be taking care of the lease renewing?"

"You know what they say, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

"Uh, Miss, do you need help out with your bags today?" the bag boy asked.

"That's ok. I live down the street, but thank you for asking," Emma replied nervously.

"Very good young man," Taylor complimented. "Always ask to help the customers. You're learning quickly."

"Thank you Uncle Taylor," the bag boy said.

_Uncle Taylor? _Emma thought.

"Do you two remember each other?" Taylor asked. The bag boy and Emma looked at each other, then at Taylor. "My boy, you must remember Emma Danes. Emma, this is my great nephew, Tyler Doose."

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Emma and Tyler catch up on her porch. Rachel witnesses an incident concerning Luke. Logan sees Rory and Colin at Weston's together._**

**A/N: Someone said something about Richie's hearing disability in the last chapter. You don't HAVE to learn sign language if you have a hearing impairment. Richie was born with the impairment and they weren't sure if he'd be able to use a hearing aide so they learned sign language just in case he didn't learn to talk- or want to. Richie learned because his parents made him (Lol). He can talk, but it won't be often. Just wanted to clear it up.**


	4. It's not what it looks like

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 4- It's not what it looks like**

Emma practiced piano in the livingroom like she did everyday after coming home from school or helping her Mom or Dad. She and her brother, unlike Rory, inherited some sort of musical talent- probably from Luke. Since they were young, they had been playing the instrument of their choice. Will decided on taking after Luke and played the guitar. Emma took up piano. They practiced everyday and played with each other once and a while.

Emma was in the middle of "Only Hope" when she heard the doorbell ring. She hated being interrupted. It broke her concentration. She knew she would have to be the one to answer the door. Will and Luke weren't home and her mom was busy with the laundry. She went to answer the door. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Tyler standing on the other side with two grocery bags in his arms.

"Hey," she managed to get out.

"Hi," he greeted in return.

"What are you doing here?"

"You forgot these at the store this afternoon. I came by earlier, but no one was home."

"I help my mom at the inn after school."

"I figured it was something like that. If you show me where the kitchen is, I can bring these in for you."

"Oh, you don't have to…"

"Oh, hello," Lorelai greeted as she came downstairs and saw Tyler at the door. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, ma'am. I was just dropping off these groceries your daughter accidentally left behind at Doose's this morning," Tyler replied.

"And you are…"

"The new bag boy."

"Oh," Lorelai said with a smile. Emma had told her about the new Doose's bag boy, but left out the fact he was a Doose. Lorelai knew her daughter had a crush on him even if she didn't admit it. "It's very sweet of you to bring those over. Thank you very much young man."

"You're welcome ma'am."

"Would you like to stay for some iced tea? It's the least I can do for returning our groceries."

"Mom, he probably has to get back to work," Emma remarked.

"Actually, I just got off. I'd love some iced tea. Thank you."

"Good. I'll just take those to the kitchen." Lorelai took the bags from Tyler.

"Here Mom, I'll help you with those," Emma offered, afraid to be left alone with Tyler.

"That's ok. I got it. You just stay with our guest and keep him company." Lorelai smiled and winked at her when Tyler wasn't looking before heading off to the kitchen.

"Do you wanna sit down?"

"Sure," Tyler replied.

Emma stepped out onto the porch and they took the two chairs in the corner of the porch. "So…how was Maine?" she asked, not sure what else to say.

"It was cool. Nothing like Stars Hollow, but I liked it."

"That's good. Hey, didn't you used to wear glasses?"

"I used to, but I don't need them anymore. Kinda grew outta them."

"That's weird how you grow out of glasses. My dad had to get reading glasses a few years ago because his eye sight's kinda going bad."

"It happens. There's no shame in wearing glasses."

"Yeah. You look so different then the last time I saw you."

"That a good thing?"

"I guess you can say that. What happened?"

"Puberty."

"Ah, I see," Emma laughed.

"You look kinda different too. You look like your mom."

"That a good thing?"

"Definitely. But both your parents are good looking so there wasn't any doubt you'd look anything less than perfect." Emma looked down as she began to blush. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"It's ok. You know, Mr. Doose usually sends Martha to drop off our groceries. I was kinda surprised to see you at my door."

"Actually, I asked Uncle Travis if I could do it."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see you again."

"You did? Why?"

Before Tyler could answer, Will came walking up the pathway and up the porch steps. He stopped halfway up when he looked up and saw Tyler.

"Oh, hey Will," Tyler greeted.

"Who the hell are you?" Will asked, looking at the boy suspiciously.

"Will, he's Tyler Doose," Emma said.

Will laughed to himself as he made his way onto the porch and headed for the door. He patted Emma on the shoulder as he passed. "Good luck with that one." He paused and laughed again as he looked toward Tyler. "Tyler Doose." He couldn't wait to see his dad's face when he found this out.

* * *

_The next day…_

Luke walked into the house with Bert in his hand. As always, Lorelai called in the middle of the day- on her day off- telling him it was urgent he come home right that very second. In other words, she had broken something and needed him to fix it. He would have thought since she and Rachel were going to go shopping, she wouldn't break something. But he wasn't that naïve.

"What'd you break?" he asked as he walked into the house.

"I'm fine honey. How are you?" Lorelai joked.

"What'd you break?"

"Why do you automatically assume I broke something?"

"What'd you break?"

"The garbage disposal is making a weird sound again. And for the record, I didn't break it."

"Uh huh."

"Hi Luke," Rachel greeted from the couch.

"Hey. How'd she break the garbage disposal?"

"I didn't break it!" Lorelai yelled in her defense. "Come on Rachel. We don't need to listen to his accusations."

"Ok. See you later Luke," Rachel said.

Luke mumbled a goodbye as he headed for the kitchen. Lorelai caught up with him and gave him a kiss goodbye. The two women were almost at the car when Rachel realized she forgot her purse.

"Damn it, I forgot my purse inside," Rachel sighed. "I'll meet you at the car. I'm just gonna run inside and get it."

"Ok. Kick Luke for me if you get the chance," Lorelai joked.

Rachel went back into the house and grabbed her purse off the couch. She was about to leave when she heard a crashing sound come from the kitchen followed by a thud. She ran to the kitchen to make sure Luke was ok. She found him lying on the ground, clutching his left shoulder.

"Oh my God, Luke are you ok?" she asked as she rushed over to help him.

"I'm fine," he groaned. She tried to help him up, but he waved her off.

"Here, let me help you up."

"No. I can do it myself. I'm fine." Luke slowly pulled himself to a sitting position.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I just…slipped." He used the edge of the counter to pull himself to his feet. One hand remained on the counter and the other was on his knee as he regained composure. He wasn't ready to stand straight just yet.

"On what? The floor's dry."

"I said I slipped ok?" It came out harsher than he expected. "I'm sorry. I just got a little dizzy and I slipped. I'm ok. Really."

"Are you sure that's it?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna go then."

"Ok." Rachel turned to leave. "Rachel?"

She stooped and faced Luke again. "Yeah?"

"Don't tell Lorelai about this."

"What?"

"I don't want her to worry over nothing."

"If it's nothing, she won't worry." She turned to leave."

"Please?" His voice almost sounded desperate.

She sighed. "I won't tell her."

"Thank you."

With that, Rachel left. It wasn't until she had gotten into the car that she realized Luke wasn't clutching his shoulder. He was clutching his chest.

* * *

"I don't know what to do anymore," Rory sighed. 

"Have you talked to your parents about this?" Colin asked. She had asked him to meet her at Weston's to talk. She chose Weston's over the diner because she didn't want Luke to wonder what was going on.

"God no! They don't even know I'm still on leave."

"What do they think you've been doing for the past month?"

"I don't know. But they can't find out I'm planning on doing this."

"They're gonna find out no matter what. Logan's going to tell them."

"God Colin, why did things have to get so complicated?"

"Rory, I wanna help you. I really do, but you need to tell me everything if I'm gonna help you. Let's start with why you want to stop working." Rory was silent for a while. She put her hand over her face and began to cry. Colin scooted his chair closer to her and put his arm around her. "It's gonna be ok. I'm gonna help you guys through this. I promise."

As Colin comforted his best friend's wife, he and Rory were unaware that Logan had taken an early lunch break to surprise Rory. He pulled up to the flower shop across the street when he saw a betraying sight. His best friend, the man he thought of as a brother, was holding his wife as she cried. Jealousy and rage overcame his sensibility. He dropped the flowers in his hand and angrily made his way across the street.

Colin looked up and saw a very angry Logan. "Ah shit," Colin said. He let go of Rory and stood. "Logan, this isn't what it looks like."

Without a word, Logan punched Colin, sending him to the ground.

"Logan!" Rory yelled as she went to see if Colin was ok. "What's the matter with you?"

"How could you?" Logan asked angrily. "How could you do this to me Colin? You're like a brother to me!"

"You don't understand," Colin groaned as Rory helped him to a sitting position. "It's not what you think."

"Oh, that's original! And you! Damn it Rory, he's my best friend!"

"Logan…" Rory started.

"No! I don't want to hear any of your excuses. I hoe you're happy." With that, Logan walked away from the scene, got in his car, and drove off. Rory chased after her husband. She needed to straighten all this out before it got even more out of hand.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Luke and Lorelai bring Richie to a hearing specialist where an option arises. Logan drowns his sorrows on a boys' night out with Jess and Dean. A group of guys from Chilton come to the diner to torment Will. Luke lashesout at Will when somethinghappens to Richie._**

**A/N: Now I've probably got you wondering what the heck is wrong with Luke in this fic. Does what happened to him in this chapter have anything to do with the introduction of the story? Is it just another ploy to get you confused? Is Luke wearing boxers, briefs, boxer briefs, or is he just going commando? Don't you love the suspense? What are you doing this those pitch forks? Ok. Let's not get too overwhelmed. There's no need. Come on.We can settle this like rational adults. Ok, maybe we can't.Let's all take a deep breath and...ow! Who poked me?**


	5. Lost

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 5- Lost**

Luke watched as Richie played with the device in his ear. Luke hated that thing. He was glad that it helped his son hear, but he hated it because Richie had to have it to hear. He watched as Richie turned up the volume, then turned it down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

"Richie, stop that right now," Luke scolded. "How may times have I told you not to play with your hearing aid?" Richie turned up the volume on the hearing aid and then brought his hand down to his side.

"Why are you so grouchy?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't like being here."

"Well, we have to be here. Richie needed his check up and we both have to be here for him."

"I don't understand why we still come here. What they tell us hasn't changed in four years. They're not suddenly going to tell us there's something else we can do."

"We don't know that."

"After four years of hearing, 'Your son's hearing impairment hasn't significantly improved or worsened. He'll need to continue using his hearing aid' I doubt it will."

Just then, Dr. Moore, the hearing specialist, walked into the office. "Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Danes," he greeted. "Hello there Richard." Richie looked up at Dr. Moore and waved. "How are you today?" Richie signed 'Ok'. Dr. Moore sat in his chair behind his desk. "Not in the mood to speak I see."

"He never is," Luke mumbled, earning him an elbow in his side from Lorelai. "Ow."

"I'm sorry doctor. My husband's just cranky…as usual," Lorelai said.

"It's alright," Dr. Moore laughed. "Alright now. Let's see what we have here today." He opened the file on his desk and looked over the charts and paperwork inside. "Well everything seems to be in order here. Your son's hearing impairment hasn't significantly improved or worsened. He'll need to continue using his hearing aid."

Luke chuckled to himself. "Ok. Thanks for seeing us and we'll see you next time," he said as he stood up and got ready to leave.

"Actually Mr. Danes, there was something else I wanted to discuss with you. Your son has a structurally damaged ear drum. Although he was born with this problem, it is still treatable. There's a procedure in which we can reconstruct your son's ear drum. If successful, he will be able to hear normally without the assistance of his hearing aid."

"Why did you wait four years to tell us this was an option?"

"We weren't sure if Richard was going to be eligible. We had to be sure that it is the suitable treatment. We also had to consider the severity of his impairment. Then there's the case of his age. The recommended age to have the procedure done is between two and six. He's at the perfect age to have this done."

"So you're recommending this? I mean, it's the best thing for Richie?" Lorelai asked.

"It's an option. I warn you, like every surgery, there are risks. There is the possibility if something should go wrong your son can become severely or even completely deaf. But if everything goes well, he'll be able to hear at a normal range. If you should go through with this procedure, Richard will have to be on antibiotics for a few a period of time- a few weeks at the least, just until we are sure that his ear won't get infected and cause another impairment. We suggest he go through therapy too. He'll be hearing things on our level and it may scare him."

Luke stared at his son sitting on the ground playing with his toy cars. "How much will it cost?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Richie.

"With the surgery itself, additional medical treatments, and therapy, this can come out to be about forty thousand dollars."

* * *

Luke parked across the street from the diner. The minute the car stopped moving, Richie unbuckled himself, hopped out of his car seat, and started bouncing up and down. Richie would often suddenly become hyperactive and start bouncing off the walls. Most of the time it was because Luke and/or Lorelai would sneak him a piece of candy. 

"Ok sweetie, calm down," Lorelai said holding back a laugh. "I don't know where he gets all this energy. One minute, he's our quiet, mild-mannered, shy son and suddenly he's…this."

"He's a four year old boy. They have energy," Luke remarked as he watched Richie jump.

"Have you forgotten we're talking about _our_ son? He isn't like normal kids his age."

"Kids are never normal. Who wants to be normal anyway? Look at you."

"Do you think he's bipolar?"

"If he is, he gets it from you."

"Ok, well, you get him to calm down before he hurts himself."

"Fine. Son, we're going to go outside so you have to stop jumping."

"Ice cream!" Richie yelled as he jumped faster.

"You can have ice cream at the diner _if_ you stop jumping." Richie immediately stopped jumping and smiled at his parents. "Ok Mommy, let's get some ice cream."

They all got out of the car and crossed the street to the diner. Will looked up from his place behind the counter when he heard his parents walk in. Richie immediately climbed onto a stool and waited for his ice cream.

"Hey," Will greeted. "How was the appointment?"

"Same old," Luke replied as he walked behind the counter and got Lorelai a cup of coffee.

"It was not," Lorelai said. She looked at Will. "Dr. Moore says that there's a surgery to reconstruct Richie's ear drum so he'll be able to hear normally."

"Wow, that's great!" Will said excitedly.

"Don't get too excited Will. I don't think we'll take the option."

"When was that decided?" Luke asked, a little irritated. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before he caused a scene. "Lorelai, can we talk upstairs for a minute?"

Lorelai let out a sigh. "Fine."

"Will, watch your brother for a little while. Oh and give him a little bit of ice cream." Luke and Lorelai made their way upstairs to his old apartment. "What was that?"

"Luke, we can't do this. We can't put Richie through the surgery."

"Don't I get a say in this? You can't make a decision concerning _our _son without discussing it with me."

"Are you saying I can't make a decision without your permission?"

"When it comes to the kids, no. You can't. _We_ have to make a decision."

"Fine. Then let's make a decision right now."

"Fine. I think Richie should have the operation."

"What? Are you crazy? What if something goes wrong? What if he goes completely deaf?"

"Then we'll deal with it. We'll learn to adapt. We learned sign language for him didn't we? Lorelai, he needs this operation."

"We can't afford it."

"We'll find a way to get the money."

"How?"

"I'll take up another job. I'll sell this building to the Doose's. I'll sell my truck. I will do whatever it takes Lorelai. This is for Richie. He needs this."

"Why? He's perfectly fine the way he is. He's happy. He's content. Why do you want him to have this operation so badly?"

"Because I want the best for him!" Luke began pacing around. "I want him to have everything he'll ever want in life, but that hearing aid is just another reminder that he's going have to work twenty times harder than everyone else. It kills me every time I see it."

Lorelai walked over to Luke and wrapped her arms around him. "I know how you feel honey. I want the world for Richie too. He's our baby and we want to protect him, but we can only do so much. I just don't think he really _needs_ this. Yes, he'll have to work harder than everyone else, but that's ok. He's strong. Just like his daddy."

Luke took a deep breath. "I don't want him to go through this. He shouldn't have to."

"I know, but that isn't up to us. Look, how about we keep this option open for now? We won't opt for or against it until we learn more about the procedure and have methods of payment."

"I guess that's ok."

"Good. So," Lorelai said, tracing circles on Luke's chest. "Will's watching Richie, Lane and Caesar are keeping an eye on things downstairs, and we're all alone up here. You wanna…"

Luke grinned. "Why Mrs. Danes, are you trying to get me to do something un-gentleman like?"

"Perhaps."

"Ok but you better be quiet. Travis Doose tried to fine me for disturbing the peace last time."

"Disturbing the peace my ass. Patty and Babette practically follow us with binoculars and popcorn waiting for a show."

* * *

Will was enjoying watching his brother eat ice cream until he heard the bells above the door jingle. He looked up and groaned when he saw who walked in. It was Eddie Callen and some of his buddies from Chilton. They spotted Will and he knew they were there to torment him. "Stay right here Richie. I'll be back in a minute," Will said. He headed over to the table of smirking assholes in Chilton uniforms. 

"Hey guys, it's Diner Boy," Eddie teased when Will approached their table. His friends laughed.

"You guys gonna order?" Will asked unenthusiastically.

"What's there to eat here?" Artie, one of the guys, asked rudely.

Will picked a menu. "See this? It's called a menu. Open it up, order, eat, and leave."

"The service here sucks," Owen, another guy, said.

"The food don't look much better," Greg, the third guy, said as he flipped through the menu.

"If you don't like the service or the food, why don't you eat somewhere else?" Will asked, trying to get them to leave.

"I believe you know the answer to that," Anthony, the ring leader of the bunch, replied with a smug look on his face.

"You can come in here and try to get on my nerves all you want Anthony," Will said. "But you're just wasting your time. I won't let you have the satisfaction."

"You say that now Danes, but just you wait."

Will watched as other customers walked into the diner. "You got five minutes. You better have an order when I get back or get the hell out."

Will hurried around the diner taking orders as the late afternoon rush came in. He ignored the smirks the Chilton group made as he did his job. They laughed at him and made jokes about him, the diner, and Luke. Many of the regulars and townspeople wanted to say something to the spoiled brats, but Will stopped them. He said he didn't want them have the satisfaction of getting on their nerves and knowing it.

"They're talking about _your_ father!" Patty whispered loudly. "Luke is the most respected man in town. How dare they come in here and say such nonsense."

"Someone needs to shut them up," Dave added.

"Yeah," a few of the other townspeople agreed.

"Guys, guys, that's enough," Will said. "I know you're all upset, but that's what they want. They want you to get mad and start a riot. We'd only be proving them right. I have to check on my brother, so let's all just settle down and finish our meals."

They reluctantly agreed with Will and went back to their food. After a few minutes, the Chilton group shut up. Will turned around to see what Richie was doing, but Richie wasn't there.

"Richie," Will called timidly, walking over to the place his brother had been sitting. He hoped Richie was just in the bathroom. "Richie." Still nothing. Will's heart stopped when he saw a small device sitting on the counter between the ice cream bowl and drawing Richie made. "Oh shit. Oh shit! Oh shit!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched as Will started freaking out.

"Richie!" Will called as he ran into the storage room. "Richie! Richie, this isn't funny!"

"What's going on?" Lane asked as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Richie. I can't find Richie!"

"Oh my God."

"Lane, what do I do? I can't find my brother! I gotta look for him. I gotta find him!" Will headed for the back exit, but ran into his parents.

Luke looked around the diner. Everyone looked nervous and worried. He turned to Will, who stood in front of him. "What's going on?" he asked. Will said nothing.

"Where's Richie?" Lorelai asked when she could see her youngest son. Again, nothing.

Luke turned his head to see Richie's hearing aid sitting on the counter instead of in it's owner's ear. "Where's Richie?" He grew more irritated no one said anything. "Will, where's your brother?" Will started backing away as Luke moved forward. "William! Where is your brother?"

Will staggered back and hit the edge of the counter. He leaned as far back as he could. "He was sitting right there Pop, I swear," Will said. "I turned around for a minute and he was gone."

"You lost your brother?"

"No! He…I was…the diner…"

"Oh my God. Luke, find my baby. Find my baby!" Lorelai screamed.

"Lane! Call nine-one-one!" Luke yelled. "What are you people waiting for? Get the hell out! Come on Lorelai. Let's go look for him."

Just then, the door opened and Babette walked into the diner with Richie.

"Oh my God, Babette! You found him!" Lorelai squealed as she rushed over to them and picked up Richie, hugging and kissing him as she cried.

"I found him standing outside Rory's house. No one was home and he looked really lost, so I brought him straight here," Babette said.

"Thank you so much."

"If there's anything we can do, please, tell me. I'd be happy to do anything," Luke said as he rubbed Richie's back. "And your meals for the month are absolutely free."

"Thanks. I better get going. I'll see you dolls later." With that, Babette left.

Lorelai put the hearing aid back into Richie's ear. "Richard Charles Danes, don't' you ever do that again," she scolded. "It's not good to scare Mommy and Daddy."

Luke faced Will. "I asked you to keep an eye on him," he said. "How could you lose your brother? You couldn't watch him for twenty minutes?"

"It was an accident!" Will shouted. "I didn't mean to…I had my back to him for a minute! I swear to God Pop, I didn't try to lose him!"

"He can't get to Rory's yard from the diner in a minute Will! He didn't even have his hearing aid! What if he walked into the middle of the street when a car was coming? He can't hear those horns! What if he gotten hit?"

"I didn't know he took his hearing aid out."

"You mean you didn't check. God Will, you know he hates that thing. He takes it out or turns it off. You _know_ you're supposed to check. How could you be so irresponsible?"

"I don't know what you want me to say Pop!"

"Try saying sorry. You were too busy trying to explain yourself, you haven't even said you were sorry once." Will lowered his gaze to his feet. "Go home."

"What?"

"You heard me. Give me the keys to the Jeep and walk home. Go straight to your room and you wait for your mother and me to get home."

Will sighed and headed for the door. In the corner of his eye, he could see Anthony and his posse silently laughing at him. He shook his head and walked out of the diner.

* * *

"How could he do that?" Luke asked as he paced around his and Lorelai's bedroom. 

"It was an accident Luke," Lorelai sighed as she pulled the covers over her legs.

"Twenty minutes. He just had to keep an eye on his brother for twenty minutes!"

"He was trying to work at the same time. You of all people should know it's not easy to run a diner and watch a kid at the same time."

Luke sighed and sat on his side of the bed. "He could have gotten hurt. He could have walked into the middle of the street and gotten hurt. You still think he doesn't need the surgery?"

Lorelai knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. "Having this surgery isn't going to stop Richie from doing this again. Luke, honey, what is this really about? Are youangry Will couldn't find Richie or are you angry that the same thing happened to you?"

* * *

After cleaning the kitchen and doing a few other miscellaneous chores, Will finally made his way to his room. Lights out had been nearly an hour ago and everyone was already in bed, but before going to his room he headed to Richie's. He walked into the darkened room and stared at the sleeping figure in the tiny bed a few feet away. He knelt beside his brother's bedside and placed a hand on Richie's sleeping form. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. 

"About what happened today Richie," he said to the sleeping little boy. "I'm really sorry. I hope you know what I didn't intentionally mean to lose you. The diner was just starting to pick up and those guys from my school were being jerks. I know it's not an excuse and I know I should have paid more attention to you, but I didn't and I'm so very sorry. You know, sometimes I think you're the only one that ever listens to me."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Luke said.

Will turned around and found his father leaning against the door frame. "Pop, I was just…"

"You don't have to explain. I heard." Luke took a deep breath. "Can we talk?"

"Sure."

"Let's go outside."

"You're not going to murder me and bury my body in the backyard are you?"

"No. I have early deliveries in the morning." Will got up and followed Luke outside to the back porch. They sat in silence for a while, staring out at the night sky. "Will, I don't want you to feel that you can't talk to me."

"It's not that I don't feel I can't talk to you. It's just I don't think…"

"I don't understand?" Will looked down at his hands shamefully. "Son, believe it or not, I was a teenager once upon a time. I went through a lot of the things you're going through forty years ago. I went through the same thing with my father. I didn't think he'd understand what I was going through. But he knew a lot more than I thought and I know m ore than you think. For instance, I know those guys from Chilton were there just to give you a hard time. Will, it doesn't matter to me what they think. You don't have to prove anything to them. I run a diner and I'm raising four kids. I'm proud of that and I thought you'd be too."

"I know. I am. It's just…" Will took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Luke nodded. "Did you know the same thing happened to me?"

"I don't remember you losing Richie."

"I didn't lose Richie. I lost you." Will turned his head to stare at his father. "You probably don't remember. You were one at the time. I remember you had just learned to walk and boy were you a speed demon. You'd get up and run like lightning. You loved stairs too. It was a challenge get up each one. It was my turn to watch you and I set up your play pen in the corner of the diner. I went to the back to get pickles. When I got back, you were gone. You had built a stair case out of your toys and climbed out of your playpen. I went nuts. Five minutes later, Jess comes downstairs from the apartment after taking a nap and he's holding your hand. You were upstairs watching TV the whole time. But those five minutes were the worst five minutes of my life. I hated myself for taking my eyes off of you. All it took was one minute and you were gone. For the next couple of months, I made sure I knew where you were all the time. I called your mom every hour when she had you. When you were with me, I made Caesar and Lane get everything from the storage room. And at night, I'd go to your nursery and I wouldn't leave until you were fast asleep. I even put a roll away bed in there to sleep in. I didn't want to take my eyes off of you. I mean, what kind of father loses his son?"

"Pop, it wasn't your fault."

"I know that now. I'm sorry for getting angry at you earlier. That feeling I got when I lost you came rushing back to me and I didn't know what else to do."

"It's ok. I should have been paying more attention to Richie. I'm sorry I didn't."

"Alright. We good?"

"We're good."

"Ok, let's go back inside before we get sick." Will got up and waited for his dad. Luke got ready to stand, but suddenly felt very dizzy and fell back into his seat.

"Pop!" Will rushed over to help his dad. "Pop, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Luke lied waving Will off. "I just got up too fast. I got a Charlie Horse. I'm ok."

"Are you sure? You look kinda pale. Do you want me to get Mom?"

"No. I'm just cold. And feeling a little flushed."

"Should I call a doctor?"

"No doctors. Will, I'm fine. Really. It was just a Charlie Horse. You can go ahead and get back into the house. I'll be there in a minute."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Now get. It's a school night."

Will let out a sigh and walked into the house. Once the door closed, Luke let out a long breath. His breathing became hard and the pain in his chest grew. He sat outside for a few minutes longer until the pain passed. He slowly got up and made his way to his bedroom, where Lorelai was already fast asleep. Luke climbed into bed and faced his wife. He kissed her cheek and pulled her body close to his. He closed his eyes and prayed he would never loose this.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Lorelai is worried about Luke. Emma and Tyler hang out. Logan and Rory turn to their respective friends for advice._**

**A/N:** **I decided to cut the boys night out. I wanted to focus on the Luke-Will relationship and touch a little more on the Luke situation. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. Things just got in the way and you know the deal. I'll try to get an update faster, but no promises. Keep an eye on Tyler and Emma and don't think you've heard the last of Anthony. I'm not so sure how accurate that surgery stuff is. I know there's a procedure to reconstruct the ear drum, but the cost is beyond me. I took a wild guess. I'd insert a funny joke or something but I've been up at six AM and going to bed (well lying down on a sleeping bag in the middle of my room) at like three AM for the past four days so I'm not very fun to be around right now.**


	6. Not Ready for Goodbye

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 6- Not ready for goodbye**

In the seventeen years Luke and Lorelai were married, Lorelai grew accustomed to waking up alone. Of course, there were anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, special occasions, days off, the daring days Luke would play hookie from work, Sundays, and the uncommon off chance of Lorelai waking up at questionable hours of the night when Lorelai would wake up next to Luke. He rose everyday at four thirty and was out the door at four fifty. By five, he was already opening the diner. It never bothered her that Luke wasn't always in bed with her when she woke up. She knew that would be the case when they got married. So you could imagine the shock she was in when she woke up the next morning and hit Luke when she was stretching.

It didn't register in her head that she had hit him for a while. When she finally realized he was still in bed, her eyes flew open and she shot up into a sitting position. She looked over at the clock on her night stand. Six thirty. What was Luke doing in bed at six thirty on a Tuesday? Her thoughts were interrupted by the phone. Luke didn't even stir by the ringing, but Lorelai still answered it quickly as if it would wake her husband.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Lorelai, it's Caesar," Caesar said. "I don't remember Luke asking me to open today, but I may have forgot. I was just calling to see if everything was ok. I sorta freaked out when the boss wasn't here this morning."

Lorelai looked over at the sleeping Luke and rubbed her temples. This was giving her a headache fast. "Yeah, um, Luke's still in bed. We had a long night last night with the whole Richie thing and all. I'll try to get him up and to the diner as fast as I can though."

"If he can't come in, I understand. Lane and I can hold down the fort until the boys get here."

"Thank you so much Caesar."

"You're welcome. See you later Lorelai."

"Later Caesar."

Lorelai put the phone down and stared at Luke. Why hadn't he gotten up this morning? They stopped using an alarm clock to wake him a long time ago. He was always up at four thirty. She put her hand on his forehead and noticed he was getting a little warm. He didn't have a fever, but it might be headed for one. Lorelai picked up the phone again and called Sookie at the inn to let her know she wouldn't be coming in today because she had to take care of Luke.

Sometime towards the end of the conversation, Luke began to stir in his sleep, slowly waking up. Lorelai sunk back into the bed and rested a hand and her head on Luke's chest. His eyes slowly opened and he looked questionably at his wife.

"Morning sleepy head," she teased.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Six forty-five."

"Six forty-five? Why didn't you wake me up?"

He tried to get up, but Lorelai stopped him. "I wouldn't have been able to wake you up anyway. Besides, I have an even better idea. Today, you and I are going to play hookie."

"But the diner…"

"Caesar and Lane are going to cover the diner until Josh and Will get there after school." He took a deep breath as a sign saying he was going to go along with her plan. "Why didn't you wake up this morning?"

"I don't know," he replied as he stroked her hair. "I'm really tired I guess."

"You're feeling a little warm this morning. Are you getting sick? Should I call the doctor?"

"No. No doctors. Lorelai, I'm fine."

Lorelai sat up and faced Luke. "Luke, you slept in two hours, you're warm, and you're tired. You could be running a fever. Please, let me call the doctor."

Luke sat up against the headboard. "Lorelai, really I'm fine. I probably feel warm because of body heat. We do tend to lie very close to each other at night. And I'm tired because Will and I were up pretty late talking last night."

"We do much more tiring activities until _very_ late."

"Yeah, but you see talking with your son is much less entertaining than doing something dirty with your wife. Really honey, I'm fine."

"Can I at least take your temperature?"

"You're not thinking of doing it the old fashioned way where I have to bend over are you?"

Lorelai laughed and shook her head. "No. We've got that one you stick in your ear. I'm gonna go get it and I'll tell the kids to just have cereal for breakfast."

Luke nodded. The minute Lorelai left the room, he let out a sigh. He hated lying to Lorelai, but he couldn't tell her what was really going on. She'd do exactly what she was doing now. She'd drop everything to take care of him and that wasn't fair. He didn't want to be the reason she put her life on hold. A minute later, Lorelai walked back into the room with the thermometer. She stick it in his ear and pressed the button, making a face as she read the results. "Ninety-nine point eight. You've got a slight fever," she sighed. "I can't remember you ever being sick."

"It's because never have been," he remarked.

"Well you are today mister. You are going to stay right here in this bed and I, the loving caring wife I am, will take care of you." Lorelai smiled mischievously and climbed into bed next to Luke. "And if you're feeling better later, maybe we can play doctor."

Luke grinned. "Full physical?"

"With a possibility of a sponge bath. But first, you need to get some sleep. I'm gonna go downstairs to make you tea and I'll ask Sookie to bring some chicken soup over."

"I'd like that," Luke smiled. He laid back down and closed his eyes.

Lorelai stopped at the door and watched as Luke fell peacefully back to sleep. She didn't know what hurt her more: not knowing if there was something wrong with Luke or that there was something he wasn't telling her. One thing was for sure though. She couldn't live with out him. She wouldn't.

* * *

Emma had two kinds of best friends. The kind she could do things with and tell secrets to. They were the ones that made her feel daring, like what Paris was to Rory- Lynn and Tiffany. And then there was the kind she could actually talk to. The one that knew her better than anyone and told _everything_ to. That best friend happened to be her niece, Lori Huntzberger. Lori was six months younger than Emma. Because Emma was born in November, the school board decided to put her in Lori's class. 

"Grandpa's sick?" Lori asked in shock.

"I know. I was shocked too," Emma laughed. "I can't remember him ever being sick. I mean, _really_ sick. Not pretending to be just so he can stay home and do…stuff with Mom."

"Ok. Let's end this conversation before I throw up. So, how mad was he at Will yesterday?"

"_Very._ He yelled until I thought he was going to explode. He grounded Will."

"Let me guess- kitchen duty, extra chores, no car, and no TV for a month?"

"Two."

"My God."

"I know. It's harsh."

"No. _My God_." Lori pointed across the street to Tyler who was jogging across the street.

"Hey," he greeted when he approached them.

"Hey Tyler," Emma smiled. "You remember my niece Lori Huntzberger right? Lori, Tyler Doose."

"You don't look like the Tyler Doose I know," Lori remarked, looking him up and down.

"Puberty hit," Tyler stated simply.

"The wonders of the world." Lori gave Emma a 'he's hot' look.

Tyler laughed. "Hey, do you guys wanna get some ice cream or something?"

"Um, sure," Emma replied. "I mean, if Lori wants to."

"Ice cream sounds great," Lori smiled.

"Cool. Follow me," Tyler said. The three of them headed toward Taylor's Ice Cream Shop. They were about to walk in when Lori stopped.

"Oh, you know what? I totally forgot I was supposed to help my dad out with something today," Lori said innocently. It was obvious she was up to something. Well, to Emma at least.

"What thing?" Emma asked, reading right through Lori's lie.

"That…thing. With the…stuff."

"The thing with stuff?"

"Yeah. I better not keep him. He's been cranky lately. But you guys go on ahead. I wouldn't want to keep you from ice cream." Before Emma could protest, Lori started down the street. "Call me later ok Em? Oh and Tyler, it was nice seeing you again."

"You too," Tyler said, waving to Lori. He turned to Emma and smiled. "So. Shall we?" He held the door open for Emma. She smiled nervously and walked inside. "What'cha in the mood for?"

"Um. Chocolate's fine."

Tyler walked behind the counter and started looking through the ice cream. "You want regular chocolate, chocolate-chocolate, chocolate fudge, chocolate swirl, chocolate moose, chocolate peanut butter crunch, or chocolate-chocolate-chocolate? Wow. We have a lot of chocolate."

"How about I just have some coffee?" Emma laughed.

Tyler moved around the buckets in search of the coffee ice cream. "I could have sworn we had a whole container of coffee last night. Hey Wendy, where's all the coffee ice cream?"

"Gone. Someone called this morning and asked for the whole container," Wendy replied.

"Who would buy a whole container of coffee ice cream for themselves?"

"Oh I have an idea," Emma said with a smile.

"Says here it went to 341 Peach Street for a Mrs. Lorelai Danes," Wendy said.

Tyler looked over at Emma and smiled. "How about a traditional banana split?" he laughed.

"I can do that," Emma replied.

Tyler fixed them up some banana splits, telling funny stories of his time away from Stars Hollow in the process. Emma listened intently, laughing at all the right times. She couldn't believe that this was the same Tyler that had tormented her when they were younger. There was no doubt she found Tyler Doose attractive, but now something else was happening. She was becoming attracted to him. There was a thrill in that. He was forbidden because he was a Doose. She never defied her parents, unlike Will. He pissed his parents off on a daily basis, but never about something like this.

Emma wondered how her father would react if she brought Tyler home for Friday Night Dinner. No. Luke could never know she was hanging out with Tyler. It was an even bigger thrill to be doing something forbidden without her parents' knowledge. Little did she know, Will had seen Tyler and her walk into the ice cream shop and was now watching them through the window to the diner. And he wasn't liking what he saw.

* * *

"I think you're over reacting," Finn commented as he poured himself another drink. 

"They were together Finn," Logan said. He was slouching in his big leather chair as he rubbed his forehead. This whole situation was giving him a head ache. "I saw it with my own eyes."

"You caught them in bed?" Dean asked as he placed his beer on the table.

"No. They were at Weston's."

"Doing what?" Finn asked.

"Hugging."

"They were hugging?"

"Yes."

"Oh of course! Rory and Colin _have_ to be having an affair because you saw them _hugging," _Dean mocked. "How stupid were we to think otherwise." Logan glared at Dean. "Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, it really was an innocent meeting between them? Maybe they were just getting some coffee and maybe it got emotional. You assumed something was going on and you know what they say about assuming things."

"What would they get emotional about?"

"Emily Gilmore died no more than a month ago," Finn said. "Maybe Rory's still suffering from the loss of her grandmother."

"This isn't about Emily."

"How do you know?" Dean asked.

Just then, the front door opened and Lori walked into the house. "Hi Daddy," she greeted, kissing her dad on the cheek. "Hi Uncle Finn. Hi Uncle Dean."

"Hello Lori," Finn smiled.

"Hey Lori," Dean said.

"Where's Uncle Colin?" Lori asked. Finn and Dean looked down at the glasses in their hands. Lori took it as a sign as it wasn't something to talk about. "Oh. Ok. Um, where's Hope and Nathan?" Nathan, or Nate, was her eight month old baby brother.

"Upstairs taking their naps," Logan replied.

"Ok." Lori stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what to say to her father. She'd been afraid to talk to him for weeks now. He was always in a bad mood and she was scared of being yelled at. "Daddy?" she finally said. Logan looked up at his daughter. "I don't know what's going on between you and Mom, but I hope everything turns out fine. No matter what happens, me, Hope, and Nate are always going to love you."

Logan motioned for Lori to give him a hug. When she did, he placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Everything's going to be fine sweetheart. I promise." He let go of her and smiled. "Go on to your room and do your homework now."

"Ok. I'll see you later Uncle Finn and Uncle Dean." She waved to them as she went to her room.

When her door closed, the men resumed their discussion. "I don't know about you," Dean said. "But I think that's reason enough to talk to Rory."

"Maybe this _is_ one big misunderstanding. And maybe it's not," Finn added. "There's one thing that's for sure: you won't find out sitting around here drinking booze with us."

* * *

It was late. Rory left the house before Logan got there. They'd been fighting as she couldn't deal with him today. So she got dressed and started walking. She wasn't sure where she was headed until she was knocking on the door. There wasn't anyone else she could talk to. It took a few seconds before the door opened. 

"Hi," Rory greeted. "Can we talk?"

Jess stared at Rory for a few seconds before letting her in the house. He had already been sleeping when some lunatic came knocking on his door. Rory took a seat at the breakfast table and Jess leaned against the island counter with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What happened this time Rory?" Jess asked.

"I think Logan might leave me."

"Why?"

"He thinks I'm having an affair with Colin."

"And you're not?"

"Of course not! I love my husband!"

"Did you tell him that?"

"Yes. He's just angry that I decided not to go back to work."

"That's understandable. By the way, what do Luke and Lorelai have to say about that?"

"They don't know."

"You're kidding me. You tell Lorelai everything."

"Well, not this."

"I think you need to go talk to them. Tell them what's going on. Your mom came to the office the other day looking for you. She's worried about you."

"Oh. You're one to talk. I'm not the one that's been avoiding Luke for the past three months."

"I am not avoiding Luke."

"Yes you are. He's been worried about you sick. Don't think I don't know you've been _asking_ to work Friday nights to get out of dinner. Now I expected that. But I never expected you to skip out on Sunday service just so you didn't have to see Luke."

Jess scratched his head and walked around the counter. He pulled a glass out of the counter and poured himself some water. "I didn't stop going to church because of Luke."

"You were the one that got us to start going and we haven't seen you in those pews in three months. If isn't Luke what is it?" Jess just stared at Rory as he drank his water. "This is about Joan? Jess, it's been nine months."

"No matter how much time passes, it's not going to stop hurting."

"Just because she's gone doesn't mean you had to stop going to church."

"I'm not going to lie to God Rory. It's funny. You and Logan go to church on Sunday to make people think everything's fine when they're not. I, on the other hand, am not going to church because things aren't ok. It's hard to lose someone you love and I can't pretend that I'm over it and that everything's ok. Because they're not and it's not right to lie to God in his own house."

Rory sighed. "You're right. It is hard. Ever since Grandma died, Logan and I haven't been the same. I miss her Jess and I don't know how to make it stop. I just want it to stop."

Jess took a deep breath and went to grab another glasses and the vodka bottle in his refrigerator. He sighed and sat across from Rory. He put a glass in front of each of them and poured the vodka. They both drank their vodka and then it was quiet between them.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it to the funeral," Jess said suddenly.

"It's ok," Rory said

Jess nodded. "It's funny. One day I'm married to a wonderful woman raising three boys. And in a blink of an eye I'm a single parent and a widower."

"I'm sorry about Joan. I know it doesn't help, but I thought you'd just like to hear it."

"You're wrong. It does help." Jess poured more liquor into the glasses. He held his glass toward Rory. "To Emily."

Rory picked her glass up and held it toward Jess. "To Joan."

They clinked their glasses and drank to their lost loved ones.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Logan has lunch with Lorelai to talk about Rory. Will gets into trouble at school and Luke and Lorelai have to go to Chilton to have a meeting with the headmaster. Tension rises between Luke and Will. Jess and Rory spend time together._**


	7. Trouble on every end in paradise

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 7- Trouble on every end in paradise**

Logan tried to stay as calm as he possibly could. He knew he shouldn't be impatient with Lorelai, but this was something very important. He wondered if she would even show up. It wasn't much of a secret that he and Rory were fighting anymore. Logan noticed the changes in the Gilmore-Danes family toward him immediately. Richard's conversations became more withdrawn and Luke sent a deadly glare Logan's way anytime he got the chance. Lorelai was the unpredictable one. No one, not even Luke, dared to try to figure out what was going on in her head. Even if they did, by the off chance, figure out what was going on in her head, she'd change it on you faster than you could imagine.

So Logan sat at a table in Weston's as he waited for his mother-in-law. It would be twenty minutes after their set meeting time before Logan saw Lorelai enter the tiny establishment. Logan stood as she approached the table.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," Logan joked as he pulled a chair out for Lorelai.

"Sorry I was late. There was a slight emergency at the inn," Lorelai sighed.

"Is everything ok?"

"Oh yeah. Everything's fine now."

"We could reschedule of you want."

"No. You said you have something very important you need to talk to me about, so here I am. What's up?"

Logan folded his hand and leaned forward. How was he supposed to go about this? He took a deep breath and began to talk. "It's Rory."

"Oh my God. Is she ok? Is she hurt? Is she sick?"

Logan regretted his words. Simple as they were, they meant more than he had implied. "Rory's fine. She's not hurt or sick. Lorelai, I'm not sure if you're aware of the current situation Rory and I are in."

"No, not really."

"Rory and I have been fighting a lot." Logan paused for a second. "She's going to quit her job."

Lorelai was shocked. "What?"

"She told me she didn't want to come back to work- ever. She doesn't want you to know, but I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Ok, let's rewind really quick. Rory's quitting her job?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. At first she didn't want to work because of…" Logan trailed off. He knew how emotional Lorelai got whenever Emily's name came up in a conversation.

"Because of what?"

"Because of E…Emily." Lorelai's expression softened and she slowly leaned back in her chair. "I gave her the common leave, but then she kept putting off going back to work. I'm beginning to think this is entirely about something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," Logan said as he looked down at his coffee cup. "There's just something that's telling me it's not about her grandmother anymore. We're always fighting with each other, we hardly talk, she goes out for hours at a time, and we haven't been intimate in two weeks."

"Two weeks? Dear God. Luke would die if we went two weeks without being friendly." Logan glanced up at Lorelai, giving her a 'I really didn't want to hear/know that' look. "Ok, so you said you two fight. What are you fighting about?"

"Nothing. Something. Everything. Take your pick. Lately it's been about her going out for hours at night without even letting me know."

"Where does she go?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know."

"No. I don't. She leaves before I get home from work and comes home at like nine or ten. She doesn't tell me where she's going, how long she'll be gone, or who she's with. Maybe I'm over reacting. She's probably just out with Lane or Paris or something."

"Yeah, probably."

Lorelai looked down at her hands. She knew what she had said was a bold faced lie. Lane worked the night and dinner shifts at the diner and then helped Dave close up the music store. Paris was a doctor. She was usually at home passed out on the couch after a sixteen hour shift. Lorelai knew Logan was thinking Rory was out with another man and it could possibly be true. She praised God when her phone began to ring. She looked at the caller ID on her phone.

"I have to take this," Lorelai said.

"Go ahead."

"Hello? This is her. Yes. Yes. He did what? Oh my…Ok. I'll be right there. Ok. Thank you. Bye." She sighed as she gathered her stuff and stood up. "I'm sorry Logan, but I'm going to have to cut this meeting short."

He stood too. "That's alright, I understand."

"We'll talk later. I'll call." He nodded. She put a hand on his arm and gave him a light squeeze. "Everything's going to be fine Logan."

He smiled at his mother-in-law. "I appreciate the sentiment."

"And don't worry about Luke. I'll fill him in on everything and…"

"Actually, I was hoping to keep this between you and me. I don't even want Rory to know we met up today." Lorelai was about to protest when Logan continued. "I just don't want to upset her anymore than she already is. You know how she is about these kinds of things."

"That's why I want to tell her. She'll be furious with me if she found out. And I can't lie to Luke. He's my husband."

"Please Lorelai. I just…I just don't want to make things worse."

Lorelai sighed. "I'm not happy about this Logan. I don't like lying to my family."

"Thank you. I'll call you later."

Lorelai headed out to her car. "Rory, what have you done this time? I hope you're not doing something stupid," she sighed. She started her car and headed to her next destination.

* * *

Luke made his way around the counter and answered the phone. "Luke's," he answered. 

"Hello. I'm looking for Mr. Lucas Danes Sr."

"This is he."

"This is Ms. Daniels, the head secretary at Chilton Prep. Mr. Danes, I'm calling in regard to your son, Lucas William Danes Jr."

"What'd he do this time?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Danes, but I can't tell you. You're going to have to come down to the school and speak with the headmaster."

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Headmaster Medina would like to inform you sir. We've already called your wife and she's on her way here now."

"Can you at least tell me if he's hurt or something?"

"You're going to have to take it up with Headmaster Medina."

"Fine," Luke sighed. "I'm on my way." He put the receiver down. "Caesar, I'll be back."

"Sure thing boss," Caesar said as he appeared at the kitchen door.

Luke grabbed his keys and rushed out the door. He hit traffic heading to Hartford. When he finally arrived at Chilton, he sprinted down the halls toward the headmaster's office. He was twenty minutes late and hauling ass.

"Hi, I'm Luke Danes," Luke said as he reached the secretary's desk. "I got a call about my son."

"They're waiting for you in the headmaster's office sir," Ms. Daniels said.

Luke nodded and made his way into the office. "Sorry I'm late," Luke apologized. "The diner was busy and then there was traffic…"

"Mr. Danes, it's alright," Max said. "If you could, please take a seat." Luke nodded as sat beside Lorelai. Max took a deep breath and pressed down on the intercom button on his desk. "Ms. Daniels, you can send them in now."

"Them? Who's them?"

"You'll find out in a second," Lorelai replied unenthusiastically.

The office doors swung open and another couple entered the room. Luke turned around to see who it was and was shocked by the outcome. "Mr. Danes, I'd like you to meet Jason and Nicole Stiles," Max said.

"You didn't ask us to take time out of our schedules to introduce us to other Chilton parents did you?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"I asked you to take time out of your schedules to discuss this situation that has arisen between your sons," Max snapped. "And if that's a problem, then I suggest you send your son to a different school."

"Wait, did you say _situation_?" Lorelai asked. "What kind of situation?"

"Mrs. Danes, your son Lucas and Mr. and Mrs. Stiles's son Anthony have been having confrontations- on and off campus. I've heard reports that young Mr. Stiles and a few of his buddies went to Stars Hollow to harass young Mr. Danes."

"Well why are we here? Why aren't the parents of the other kids here?" Nicole asked.

"Because the problem is between young Mr. Danes and young Mr. Stiles. The others are pawns on a chess board if you will. I'm going to call the boys in now and then I'll inform you of today's incident." Max pressed down on the intercom button on his desk. "Ms. Daniels, please send in Mr. Danes and Mr. Stiles now."

A few seconds later, Will and Anthony walked into the room. They sat in the empty seats between their parents, luckily the chairs were arm swinging length between each other.

"Mr. and Mrs. Danes, Mr. and Mrs. Stiles, your sons have become nuisance in my school. They're disruptive, destructive, and violent. With each fight, the damage done increases. Last time Mr. Stiles was in my office, he cost the school a fourth of it's chem lab. Mr. Danes, on the other hand, cost Edison Callen a trip to the emergency room because of a broken jaw."

Luke turned to Will. "You broke a kid's jaw?" Luke asked angrily.

"Why weren't we informed of this?" Lorelai asked.

"We hadn't realized Mr. Callen's jaw was broken until the day after the incident. His parents didn't press charges, so William served his time and it was done with. Unfortunately, this time the problem is not going to go away so easily. Your sons got into a fight that took them from one end of the quad to the other, taking out four other students and two faculty members."

"They hit teachers?" Jason asked in shock.

"Unintentionally, but that's not going to matter."

"So what happens now?" Nicole asked.

Max sighed. "According to the school bylaws, this incident is means for expulsion. "

"What?" Will and Anthony yelled as they jumped out of their seats.

"Is there anything else that can be done? I mean, do you have to expel them?" Lorelai asked.

"Suspension with community service and anger management may be an option. You'll be doing a lot of hard work and you'll be restricted to certain areas of campus, and there'll be an evaluation done to see if you'll be allowed to continue attending this school."

"You mean there's a chance that they'll still be kicked out?" Jason asked.

"What use would this program be if they don't change or improve?"

"You hear that Anthony? You're going to get kicked out of school because you can't control your damn temper!"

"Gee, I wonder where I get it from," Anthony spat.

Luke started to pace. "What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled at Will. "Why are you picking fights?"

"I didn't pick a fight," Will defended himself.

"So he just attacked you? Or did you attack him?"

"No."

"No what? No you attacked him or no he attacked you?"

"No…I…he…"

"Forget it. I don't wanna hear your excuses. I'm transferring you to Stars Hollow High."

"What?" Will yelled as he jumped out of his seat. "Dad! You can't do that!"

"Luke," Lorelai said as she rose from her seat. "Calm down. You're being rash."

"Lorelai, I'm not about to waste thousands of dollars for him to fuck up!" Luke yelled. He turned to Will. "I work my ass off for sixteen hours a day and this is how you're going act?"

"Damn straight," Jason agreed. He turned to Anthony. "I'm not wasting my hard earned money for you to screw up."

"Jason, stop it," Nicole said.

"I'm sorry ok? It won't happen again. Just…don't take me out of the school," Will begged. "Dad! Please! Come on! I need this school! What about Harvard? Yale? Princeton? Without this school I can't get into those colleges!"

"Well, you should have thought about that earlier," Luke said.

"Ok, that's enough!" Lorelai stated. "You, she said poking Luke in the chest, "you calm down. Sit down and chill. We're _not_ transferring Will to Stars Hollow High. He's right. He won't be able to get into the colleges we want him to if we take him out." Lorelai turned around and faced her son. "And _you!_ You are in _so_ much trouble! You don't even know how mad I am right now, but obviously I'm going to be the sane one. But just wait until we get home."

"I agree. Stop it Jason, before you make a fool of yourself," Nicole said.

"Mr. Stiles, Mr. Danes, I'm going to have to agree with Mrs. Danes and Mrs. Stiles's requests for civility," Max said. The two men slowly sat down. "Anthony, William, would you two boys please step outside? I'd like to have a word with your parents."

Will and Anthony both stood and walked out of the room.

"Now here's what I think," Max said as he stood up and walked around the desk. "This situation between William and Anthony is because they're coming from different worlds. They don't understand each other and they're not trying to. They come from different worlds and it's a disaster when their worlds collide. Although William's grandfather comes from the same society as the Stiles, he's used to the Stars Hollow world. Now, I think maybe if they spent a little time getting to know each other they just might get along."

"Ok, where are you going with this?" Nicole asked.

"I suggest these two families spend one evening together. It's just a suggestion. You don't have to do this, but before you make your decision I ask that you weigh your options. You can ignore this problem and hope it goes away. Or you can face it head on. After all, what's one dinner?"

Will and Anthony were startled when the headmaster's door opened and Luke came storming out. Lorelai was right on his heels. "Let's go," she said to Will.

"Dad, I'm really sorry," Will said as he tried to keep up with his parents. Luke didn't stop his quick pace. "Dad. Dad. Did you hear me? I said I was sorry. Dad, come on. Talk to me."

Luke stopped and turned around. "I'm _really_ not in the mood to talk right now Will," he snapped. "What you did back there…I'm tired of it. I'm tired of you screwing up. I'm not pulling you out of Chilton, but if this happens again you won't be so lucky. I swear to God Will, I'll ship your ass off to military school. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir," Will replied. He looked to Lorelai for reassurance.

"Oh by the way, thanks to your stunt, the Stiles family is joining us for dinner on Friday night," Lorelai said in a sarcastic happy tone. Her fake smile faded and she caught up with Luke.

"Great," Will sighed as his parents walked ahead of him. "This is gonna suck _major_ ass."

* * *

"I have lunch with your mom once every other week," Jess said as he and Rory walked down the path. "She swings by the office and we grab something to eat at the inn." 

"What do you talk about?" Rory asked.

"We catch up. After ten minutes and three cups of coffee, she runs off to chase the boys around the inn. She'll ask why I haven't spoken to Luke and then I'll say I have to go because I need to drop the boys off before I head back to work." Jess looked down at his feet. "How is he?"

"He's doing fine. Although, he's been acting a little funny lately and get this- he was sick."

"Luke? You're kidding me. What was wrong?"

"He was running a slight fever, that's all. Nothing serious but you know my mom."

"I'm surprised I didn't hear about that. How long ago was that?"

"About a week and a half ago."

"Ah, so I'll be hearing about it in a few days?"

"Pretend to act surprised."

"Done." They walked in silence for a while longer. "So, Logan called me into his office today."

"And?"

"If you're going to change your mind about your decision not to return to work, then you won't have a job to come back to."

"He promoted you?"

Jess smiled. "He needs a head journalist and the job would have been mine in the first place if you weren't sleeping with him."

"Jess, I'm so happy for you," Rory said as she hugged him. "You deserve to move up."

"Thank you."

"Can I make a suggestion though?"

"Who am I to turn down a Gilmore?"

"Tell Luke. As proud as I am, he'll be a thousand times prouder. He wants to hear from you Jess. He misses you. Just talk to him. Please."

Jess took a deep breath. "You hear about that new crazy town event Taylor came up with?"

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Richard invites Will, who is now on suspension, to lunch. Luke goes to see Paris about his condition. Lorelai confides in Sookie about her concerns about Luke. Tyler asks Emma out._**

**A/N: I'm _sooo_ sorry it's been like forever since I updated. Like, work, and college just got in the way. I should have an update of _The Broken Road_ up soon. I just wanted to make a few final alterations and it should be good to go. Please accept my appology in the form of this ridiculously long chapter.**


	8. Is that a yes or a no?

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Ok, this is the first time I'm doing this so please forgive me.  
smartipantz:**Perhaps you're right about Luke andWill.But the bigger the problem, the bigger the reunion. Right? Idon't know. I really like the whole Tyler/Emma idea. It'sgot a Romeo and Juliet feel to it don'tyou think?  
**Antifangirl1725:** Let's not forget Luke and nicole were married too. It's gonna be a wild, crazy chapter full of lued behavior.  
**Bloomin Daisy:** Rory is **not** having an affair, but Logan doesn't know what to think at this point. Be prepared for a fallout.  
**Charmedchic72: **Actually, Kelly Clackson's _Breakaway_ is the inspiration of this fic. MAx hasn't told Luke and Lorelai about Will _because_he knows them. He's cutting him slack in hopes he'll change. Emma and Tyler are gonna play a big role later.  
**Professor: **My God. what dedication you have! You are one of the only people that has reviewed to every chapter of every fic I've written. I feel like I should be giving you a prize or something. I'm doing the Peter Panda Dance for ya. Lol.

**Chapter 8- Is that a yes or a no?**

Will turned off the TV and let out a sigh. He was bored out of his mind and it was only the first day of his two week suspension. Luke and Lorelai gave him things to do around the house, but he finished most of the list already and what he didn't do couldn't be done until his parents got home. Will got up and started to walk around his empty house. He ended up downstairs in the basement, which had been turned into a lounge. Will and his band- Josh, Sam, and Lane and Dave's thirteen year old son Joey- would sometimes practice down there too.

Will picked up his guitar and checked if it was in tune. Of course it was in tune. It was always in tune. When he forgot to check, Luke always did. Will was practicing the song Luke was teaching him when the phone started to ring. He put his guitar down and went to answer the phone.

"Hello?" he answered.

"William, it's your grandfather," Richard said.

"Oh, hey Grandpa. What's up?"

"I was hoping you and I could meet up for lunch." Will was about to say something, but Richard continued. "Now I've already spoken to your parents and they've agreed to allow you to join me. I can have a driver there to pick you up in fifteen minutes. What do you say?"

"Uh, sure. Yeah. I can be ready in fifteen minutes. Do I have to be dressed nice or…"

"A clean shirt and nice pants will do."

"Ok. Uh, I guess I'll see you soon."

"Yes. I'll see you soon."

Will hung up the phone and went to get ready. He threw on a pair of khakis and a black dress shirt. Fifteen minutes later, he was rushing down the stairs to meet up with the driver his grandfather sent. He was in Hartford in no time. He stood on the doorstep and waited for the new maid to answer the door. Richard had a new maid every other week. Frequently changing maids was a habit he picked up from Emily.

"Hi," he greeted the maid. "I'm Will Danes, Richard's grandson."

"Of course," she said. She stepped aside to let Will in and led him to the livingroom. "Mr. Gilmore will be down in a minute."

"Ok. Thanks." Will stood when his grandfather entered the room. "Hi Grandpa."

"Good afternoon William," Richard greeted. He glanced at his watch. "Oh my. We better go."

Will followed Richard out to the car. They arrived at Richard's country club five minutes later and were immediately seated. They ordered and the table was quiet.

"Now, you're probably wondering why I asked you here today," Richard said.

"Yeah," Will laughed. "I kinda am."

"I heard about the incident at Chilton."

"Already?"

"Your mother and father called me last night. How do you think I knew you'd be home in the middle of a Tuesday?" Will looked down at his plate. "I asked you hear today because I'm worried about you. This is a very dangerous path you're following. I'm worried if you continue down this road, something far worse than getting kicked out of Chilton will happen. William, why did you fight that young man?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't like him."

Richard sighed and shook his head. "This is unacceptable William."

"I know Grandpa and I'm really sorry about what happened."

"I know you're sorry, but saying sorry isn't going to make this go away. I want to help put you back on the right track. If there is anything I can do for you William, tell me and I won't hesitate to help."

* * *

"Something's not right," Lorelai said as she paced around in her livingroom. "I've got a real bad feeling about this whole situation." 

"I'm sure it's nothing," Sookie assured as she took a sip of her coffee.

"What if it _is_ something? What if it's something serious?"

"Seriously Lorelai, why are you so worried?"

"He was sick."

"People get sick."

"Sookie, this is Luke we're talking about. Luke's never been sick. _Ever._"

"You're worried because of a little cold?"

"No. There's other…stuff."

"What other stuff?"

"I don't know. He's been a lot more tired lately. He has these really bad headaches. And…" Lorelai trailed off as she stopped pacing and slowly sat down.

"And what?"

She took a deep breath and touched her wedding ring. "He stopped breathing."

Sookie wasn't sure of what she heard her friends say. "What?"

"He stopped breathing," Lorelai nearly sobbed. "This morning. Caesar opened the diner because Luke had a meeting, so he didn't get up at his usual time. I woke up before he did and when I looked over at him…" Lorelai paused and turned away, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I was so scared Sookie. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't even get myself to call nine-one-one."

"What happened?"

Lorelai shrugged. She couldn't stop the tears at this point. "When I finally got the sense to do something, he started breathing again. I was so happy he was breathing, I just started to cry."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"He said he was dream swimming," Lorelai laughed through her tears. "He has never done something in reality he did in a dream."

"Except for sleep with and marry you."

"I applaud your attempt at lightening the mood, but it's not going to help." Lorelai put her untouched coffee down. "Do you think he's hiding something from me?"

"What? No! Of course not. He tells you _everything_. Maybe he really was dream swimming."

"Come on Sook. Dream swimming?"

"Yeah, that does sound kinda weird."

"I feel like there's something he's not telling me."

"Honey," Sookie said, putting her hand on Lorelai's, "it's probably nothing."

"Or maybe it's something so bad, he's afraid to tell me." Lorelai sighed. "Oh God I hope he's ok."

* * *

"Ok, you can put your shirt back on now," Paris said as she turned away and wrote something down on her clipboard. 

Luke pulled his long sleeved shirt over his head and then put his flannel on over it. "So what's the verdict doc?" he asked as he started buttoning up his shirt.

Paris sighed and leaned against the counter. "It's coronary heart disease."

Luke froze and stared blankly at Paris. "Are…are you sure?"

Paris painfully nodded. "It could be caused by a number of things- eating habits, continuous stress, high blood pressure. It could be caused by stress, hereditary, or a combination of the two. Or it can be one of those rare cases where we don't know what causes it."

"Heredity? But my father died of leukemia."

"It could have skipped a generation. Your father had leukemia and now Jess does. Do you know what your grandfather died of?"

"Yeah. He died of…" Luke trailed off for a second. "Heart failure."

"Cardiovascular disease probably runs in your family. I'd look into it."

"Yeah. It's at the top of my list of things to do."

"Luke, I'm so sorry about this. When are you going to tell Lorelai?" Luke looked down and started buttoning his shirt again. "Luke." Still no response. "Luke, you _have _to tell Lorelai."

"No," Luke said firmly as he hopped off the examination table. "I can't tell Lorelai or the kids about this."

"They're your family. They have a right to know."

"No. Not now. Not when everything's all screwed up. There's just too much going on in our family. I'm not putting another burden on their shoulders."

"By not telling them, you're putting yourself more at risk! You can't just shrug this off Luke.This is an extremely large burden for you to bear and the stress is going to undo you. Those pains in your chest, they're mini-heart attacks called angina. With each one, you get closer and closer to the big one and there is a possibility that it can be a fatal one. Look, Rory's my best friend. She's practically family to me. When she's hurting, so am I. I'm begging you Luke. Tell them."

Luke grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "I'll see you next time doc."

He walked out to his truck and drove back to the diner. He had to go to Hartford for his doctor's appointment. Not because Paris's main office was in Hartford, but because he didn't want anyone to know he was ill. On his way back to town, Luke thought about what Paris had said to him. How could he tell his family he was going to die? There was a simple answer. He wasn't.

* * *

"How about this one?" Emma asked as she pulled another book from the shelf. 

Lori looked at the book Emma was holding. "Nope. Too boring."

"_To Kill a Mockingbird?_ Lori, it's a classic."

"Classically boring. You can get it if you want, but I'm going to pass."

"Fine," Emma sighed as she put the book back. She picked up a copy of _The Crucible. _"What about this one?"

"Nu uh. Too weird."

"You're weird. You're just going to reject every book I pick, so you get one."

Lori looked through a few titles and made her decision, hiding it behind her back. "Ok, not only is this book not boring, but it's been a classic for centuries." She showed her choice to Emma.

"_The Odyssey_? Lori, we've read that book fifty times."

"Ah, but not in Greek."

"We can't read Greek."

"See. Another challenge."

"I decline."

"Why?"

"Because we've read it fifty times and we can't read Greek."

Lori shrugged and put the book back. "Ok, we've officially rejected every book in here."

"Right on time too. I have to go. Dad's got me on babysitting duty."

"Sucks for you."

"Gee, thanks. Call me later?"

"After I learn Greek."

"Good. Bye Lor."

"Bye Em."

Emma put her backpack on and headed out the door. She was crossing the street when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Emma!" Tyler called. "Emma, wait up!"

Emma stopped and waited as Tyler jogged in her direction. "Oh, hey Tyler," she greeted.

"Hey."

Emma stared at him, waiting for him to carry on the conversation. But he didn't. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Oh! Yeah. I, uh, wanted to ask you something."

"Ok. What is?"

"Uh…" Suddenly Tyler forgot what he was doing. Or maybe he was just chickening out. He couldn't really tell the difference right now. "Um, how are you doing today?"

"I'm fine," Emma laughed. "And you?"

"I'm…I'm ok."

"Is that it?"

"No."

"Ok, well, I'm listening when you're ready to tell me."

"I'm sorry. I'm just…nervous."

"About what?"

"This."

"Standing in town square? We can go across the street if you want."

"I wasn't talking about that. Ok, well, I was sorta wondering if you, um, wanted to, uh…you know. Go see a movie at the BWR theater or something."

"You mean, like a date?"

Tyler stared rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess. So, do you?"

Emma stared at Tyler for a while, then looked around. She realized they were standing in the middle of town square. Out in the open for the whole town to see.

"I…I gotta go," Emma stuttered. She started to walk backwards in the direction of her house.

"What? Emma…"

"I promised my dad I'd babysit. I have to get home. I'm sorry Tyler." Emma turned around and started to run.

"Emma, don't…Emma. Emma! Wait!" Tyler tried calling out. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Tyler sighed when he realized he wasn't getting an answer. He shook his head and noticed something in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and confirmed his suspicion. There, in front of Miss Patty's Studio, was Miss Patty herself and Babette whispering to each other, no doubt about the display Tyler and Emma had just put on.

"Ah shit," Tyler groaned. He kicked the dirt under his feet and trudged back to Doose's.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Rory and Logan have a pleasant conversation. Will threatens Tyler when he shows up at the Danes's door asking to see Emma. Lorelai tries to get Luke to participate in the new town event._**

**A/N: I did my research and the Coronary Heart Disease stuff checks out. I know it was boring, but keep Will and Richard's conversation in mind. It'll come in hand later. The Tyler asking Emma out scene was different the first time I wrote it, but I decided against it. I liked this one better. I know you all probably hate me for doing this to Luke, but just remember something- a lesson that should have been learned when you read _The Broken Road_: Not everything is as it seems.**


	9. Healthy habits, bag boys, and trophies

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 9- Healthy habits, bag boys, and trophies**

Logan couldn't remember the last time in the past few months he left the office during his lunch break. He usually had to stay at the office or went to a meeting when lunch rolled around, but he never actually went out to eat. With everything going on, he needed the break. He walked into the diner and paused when he saw Rory sitting at a table with Nate in his stroller. Logan seriously considered leaving the diner to avoid another confrontation with his wife, but Luke had just walked out of the kitchen and spotted him. He couldn't leave now. He nodded to his father-in-law and headed for Rory's table.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Logan," Rory said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm finally caught up with stuff at work, so I'm taking a lunch break."

"Why don't you take a seat. We can have lunch together."

"I'd like that." Logan smiled as he sat down.

Luke walked over to the table with two menus. "Coffee?" he asked.

"Yes please," Rory replied.

"Logan?"

"Herbal tea for me please," Logan replied.

"Now you see Nathan, that's just the response Grandpa Luke likes to hear," Luke said to the baby. "I there was a reason I liked you. I'll be right back with your drinks." Luke went to get their drinks.

"You're such a brown noser," Rory joked.

"What?" Logan laughed. "I like tea."

"Uh huh. You like tea just as much as mom likes grapefruit."

"I started drinking it at work. It's supposed to relieve stress or something. And since Finn is trying to cut back on the alcohol, he's been making me drink tea too."

"You're serious aren't you?" Rory asked with a slight laugh.

"As a heart attack."

Luke had returned to the table with Logan and Rory's drinks just as Logan made his last statement. He froze for a minute before he remembered the drinks. Rory looked up at Luke.

"You ok Luke? You look pale," she remarked.

"Uh, yeah," Luke lied. He put their drinks in front of them and quickly got out his ordering pad. "You ready to order?"

"I'm ready," Logan replied. "Rory?"

"Cheeseburger and chili fries with a side order of extra chili," Rory smiled. Luke rolled his eyes.

"I'll have caesar salad, easy on the dressing, eggs on the side."

"What's with the healthy habits?" Luke asked.

"Finn's trying to stop his excessive drinking."

"He goes down, he's taking you with him?"

"Basically."

"Gotcha." Luke walked away again to prepare Logan and Rory's food.

Logan smiled at Rory. "What?" she asked with a smile. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"No reason," Logan smiled as he shook his head. "I just wanted to see you smile."

Rory looked away as she started to blush. "So Hope's play is next week," she said, quickly changing the subject. "She's really excited."

"I know. She asked me to help her with the singing."

"Why don't you? You're a great singer."

Logan nodded and took a deep breath. "I wanna apologize."

"For what?"

"The whole Colin thing."

"Logan…"

"I overreacted and I shouldn't have. I know now that I was wrong and I'm sorry. I love you Rory and I don't want to do anything to ruin our relationship."

Before Rory could say anything, Luke walked over to their table with their food. "Caesar salad," Luke said putting the salad in front of Logan. He placed Rory's food in front of her. "Dead cow with the side of death by heart attack. Extra clogged arteries."

"Mm, sounds appetizing," Logan teased.

* * *

Tyler walked up to the Danes' front door. He hadn't seen or heard from Emma since yesterday. She was usually at the diner or the bookstore after school, but not today. Tiffany and Lynn didn't know where she was and Lori had disappeared before he had a chance to ask her. Tyler rang the doorbell and tried to be as patient as he could for someone to answer the door. A few seconds later, the door opened and a not too pleased Will stood on the other side. 

"Hi, is Emma home?" Tyler asked, trying to avoid the fact that Will was staring a hole right through him. Will looked over his shoulder before stepping onto the porch and shutting th door behind him. Tyler stumbled back a few steps in fear. Will was _not _happy. "Whoa. Hey man, I'm not looking for any trouble. I'm just…"

"I know what you're doing here," Will interrupted. "And I suggest you don't."

"I'm sorry, what now?"

"Get off my porch, get away from my house, and stay away from my sister."

"I don't know why you're angry at me, but…"

"Let's get something straight Doose. There are three reason I really wanna kick your ass right now. One, you're a Doose. Being a Danes, it's genetics for me to wanna kick your ass. Two, you asked out my baby sister. And three, I just don't like you."

"You know about me asking Emma out?"

"No shit. You're in Stars Hollow!"

"Does that mean your dad knows?"

"If he did, do you honestly think you'd still be breathing right now? Your uncle Travis is giving my dad so much shit, if he heard about this you'd be staring at the wrong the end of a twelve gauge right about now. Miss Patty and Babette are going to great lengths to keep my mom and dad from finding out."

"I'll thank them later."

"They're not doing it for you. They just don't wanna see my dad behind bars because he _will _kill you if he finds out." Tyler gulped. "Stay away from my sister or else."

Not knowing where this sudden urge of bravery was coming from, Tyler took a step forward so he was eye to eye with Will. "Or else what?"

"Or I'll kill you," Will stated matter-of-factly.

"No you won't."

Will shook his head and laughed as he rubbed his chin. Suddenly he grabbed Tyler by the collar and threw him against the side of the house. "Do you really wanna test that theory? Because I have no problem serving twenty to life if it means keeping your ass from my sister."

"You're insane."

"Damn right I am. Stay the fuck away from my sister. I swear to God, if I find out you're anywhere near her, I'll break your shit off. Understand?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied, nodding fiercely.

Will let go of Tyler. "Now get outta here before you piss me off."

Tyler quickly walked off the porch and headed down the path as Will went back into the house. He sat on the couch, picked up his book, and started to read. It wasn't long before Emma came bouncing down the stairs.

"Hey," she called. "Who was at the door?"

"No one important," Will replied without looking up from his book.

"Please tell me this isn't what you do all day."

"I won't tell you then."

"You've read that book a million times already."

"No. Just fifteen, but I'm aiming for a million."

"Whatever weirdo. Dad called and he wants us at the diner in two hours for the dinner rush."

"Okie dokie."

"But I was hoping we could go a little earlier because I'm getting hungry."

Will shut his book and sighed as he stood. "I'll get ready."

"Thanks big brother. You're the best," Emma shouted to her brother as he headed upstairs.

She passed by the window that looked out to the front yard and was surprised when she saw Tyler walking down the street with his head down. She had a weird feeling in her stomach at that moment and she knew that it wasn't a good thing. She didn't want to admit it, but something told her Will had something to do with it.

"Ready to go?" Will asked as he came down the stairs.

"Yeah," Emma replied as she finally looked away from the window. Tyler was long gone by now anyway. She and Will walked out of the house and headed down the path. "Hey Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Exactly who was at the door earlier?"

"Like I said, no one important."

* * *

Luke walked over to the table of eight year olds. He had been suckered into watching them. It started with Lana and Hope. It didn't really bother him because they were always at the diner after school doing their homework. Then Lane arrived at work with her and Dave's son Paul. Of course, Luke's great nephew Oliver wasn't far behind his best friend. Rachel begged him to look after her son, Jeffrey. And apparently, it was prearranged with Lorelai that Sookie could bring over her daughter Martha too. And of course Luke had absolutely no clue about it 

"Ok, what does everyone want?" Luke asked. The minute it came out of his mouth, he regretted saying it because all six of the eight year olds started to shout at the top of their lungs. "One at a time. One at a time!" Luke yelled and the kids stopped shouting. "Raise you hand if you want cheeseburgers." All the kids raised their hands. "Ok, now who wants fries?" Again, all the hands went up. "Here's the deal, if you're all getting cheeseburgers and fries, you're all getting juice."

"Aw," they all groaned.

"Hey, no juice, no cheeseburgers." The kids stopped groaning. "That's what I thought." Luke walked behind the counter. "Caesar, I need six cheeseburgers and six fries. Lane, the kiddie table's having juice all around."

"Apple or orange?" Lane asked.

"Hey kids, apple or orange?" Half the kids responded apple and half orange. "Half and half." Luke went into the kitchen to help Caesar.

While he was in the kitchen, Lorelai entered the diner. "Oh Lucas!" she called, stretching out the syllables in his name. "Lucas, where are you?" Lorelai looked around for her husband, but he was no where in sight. She smiled when she was the table of eight year old. "Hi kids. What are you guys up to?"

"Homework," Oliver replied.

"Sounds fun. Who can tell me where Luke is?"

"Mr. Danes is in the kitchen," Paul replied.

"He's making us cheeseburgers Grandma," Hope added.

"And fries," Martha added.

"Hm. That means he's gonna take forever. Ok, thanks kids." Lorelai put her bag on a stool and walked behind the counter. She pulled out a cup and started pouring herself coffee.

"Mommy, Daddy says your not supposed to be there," Lana remarked.

"Yeah, but sweetie, I have what's called benefits. Because Daddy's Daddy and I'm Mommy, I get to be here."

"I don't get it," Jeffrey said.

"I'll let your mommy and daddy explain it to you one day."

"Hey!" Luke yelled at Lorelai as he walked out of the kitchen. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I…you…coffee," Lorelai stammered.

"Lorelai, you know you can't be back here. On the other side of the counter."

"But I'm the wife."

"Other side." Luke walked over to the table and started placing the plates in front of the kids.

Lorelai sighed and walked around the counter. "You guys are supposed to tell me when he's coming and you saw him coming. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Grandpa Luke says that you have to face the consequences when you're bad," Hope replied.

"When did you learn what consequences are?"

"Since I told them if they go behind the counter they're not getting ice cream," Luke replied.

"Uh oh," Lana said.

"It's ok, Daddy's not that mad at Mommy," Lorelai said.

"No Mommy. Uh oh." Lana pointed out the window. Taylor was headed to the diner with a flyer in his hands.

"Uh oh. Luke! Taylor alert and he's got flyers!"

"Ah jeez." The second Taylor stepped into the diner, Luke yelled. "Out!"

Taylor rolled his eyes. "Honestly Luke, would it kill you to be nice for one minute?" he asked.

"Get those flyers out of my diner Taylor."

"I don't understand you. You've lived in this town longer than anyone else and yet you refuse to participate in the town functions."

"They're stupid Taylor. We're always doing something stupid to raise money for something even stupider like buying a tarp to cover the bridge we haven't restored in twenty eight years."

"Yeah, why haven't we restored that bridge?" Lorelai asked.

"These things take time," Taylor said.

"Twenty eight years?" Luke asked.

"We're not raising money this time. This is just going to be a new fun thing for the town to do."

Taylor handed Lorelai and Luke a flyer. "Citizens of Stars Hollow," Lorelai read from the flyer. "We are now announcing the first annual Stars Hollow Battle of the Bands. Come share your talents with your fellow Stars Hollow citizens or support your friends. The performances will be judged by a preselected panel of your fellow citizens. Trophies will be award to the first, second, and third place winners. Sign up at Miss Patty's Studio." Lorelai looked up at Taylor. "There's a trophy?"

"Yes there is. It's a beautiful thing. It puts the dance marathon trophy to shame. Now, the contest is going to take place in three weeks. Oh it'll be great. We're even going to put in a dance floor so if you feel like dancing, there'll be a place for you to do it."

"Get out Taylor," Luke ordered.

"But…"

"Out."

"I was just suggesting…"

"Out!"

"You're setting a bad example for these children."

"Arm swinging length."

"Fine, I'll leave." Taylor looked at the table of children before walking out the door. "That, boys and girls, is the perfect example of someone you _do not _want to grow up to be like."

"Arm swinging length!" Luke shouted. Taylor frantically rushed out of diner.

"Hm," Lorelai said, looking over the flyer again.

Luke looked at Lorelai. "Hm what?"

"I was just looking at the flyer Taylor gave us."

"So?"

Lorelai showed Luke the flyer and smiled. "I bet it's a big trophy."

Luke shook his head. "No. I'm not signing up for that thing."

"Oh come on Luke! We'd be great! Remember our rehearsal dinner? The town loved us. We'd win for sure!"

"No." Luke walked behind the counter and started refilling the coffee pots.

"But Luke, the trophy." Luke went back to work without a word to Lorelai. "Hey! Quit ignoring me. You can't ignore me! I'm your wife! If you continue to ignore me, I will be forced to talk the crazy talk in a baby's voice!"

Luke took a deep breath and leaned forward over the counter. "I'll think about it."

"Are you serious? You're gonna do it?"

"_Might. _I _might _do it. No promises."

"Ok, just think about the trophy. The big, shiny trophy."

"Whatever. Now, sit down and behave."

Lorelai sat down at the counter and started to drink her coffee as Luke went back to work. She looked at the flyer in her hands and smiled. Luke _was_ entering the contest and she _was_ getting her trophy.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Taylor comes to the diner to ask Luke something. It's Friday night and the Stiles family is coming for dinner and there's one thing they forgot to do- tell Richard and he isn't happy when he finds out. Jess finally returns to Friday night dinner. Max makes a very unpopular suggestion._**

**A/N: Raise your hand if you think Luke should join the contest. Ok, put your hand down. I can't see it anyway. Lol. Don't you just love the drama? Logan and Rory _seem_ to be headed on the right track. Tyler likes Emma. Emma likes Tyler. Will's standing in their way. Jess is avoiding Luke. Richard's working to try to forget the pain of losing Emily. Lorelai's plotting to get Luke into the town event. And Luke's got a heart problem. What else could go wrong? Oh yeah, there's Digger, Nicole, and Anthony. I'm just making a few tweaks to _The Broken Road_ so that should be up soon. Now, there's something I'd like to discuss. I've started a _Gilmore Girls_ Roleplay over at my board. I need more people to sign up to get the thing started. So, please go over there and sign up as a character- hopefully the one you want will still be there. Just go to dinergirl(dot)proboards42(dot)com/index.cgi?boardggroleplay. If the link doesn't show up, email me at smilinjuss4u(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll send it to you. **


	10. The Diggers that came to dinner

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 10- The Diggers that came to dinner**

"You gonna order yet?" Luke asked as he walked over to Kirk's table.

"Hm," Kirk said as he looked through the menu.

"The menu hasn't changed in twenty years Kirk."

"I just don't know what to get. What do you suggest Luke?"

"I suggest you order before I kill you. So you better do it quick before your wife and kids get here and have to watch."

"I'll have a hamburger and fries with a soda please."

Luke scribbled down Kirk's order and walked behind the counter. "More coffee Dave?"

"To go please," Dave said as he stood up. "I need to get back to the music store."

"Here you go. See you later." Just as Dave was leaving, Taylor walked into the diner. Luke groaned and tried to ignore the old man.

"Ah Luke. You're here," Taylor said as he headed to the counter.

"Where else would I be in the middle of the day?"

"I don't know your routine."

"Taylor, I've been opening and closing the diner at the same time for thirty-three years."

"You're not always here Luke."

"What do you want Taylor?"

"There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Look, if this about renewing the lease on the ice cream shop, you tell Travis he needs to walk his carcass over here and give me the papers himself."

"That's not what I'm here about."

"Well if you're here to try to talk me into participating in that stupid town event, I told Lorelai I'd think about it. But don't hold your breath on me saying yes."

"Oh no. I'm not here to talk about that. Besides, Battle of the Bands was thrown out the window," Taylor said as he sat down.

"Why?" Luke asked, generally interested.

"My nephew the town selectman decided against the idea."

"You're kidding."

"He's removing the competition part from the function and making it a concert under the stars."

"Travis vetoed your town function idea?"

"Don't rub it in young man."

"I'm not rubbing anything in. I'm just surprised you're just letting this happen. Come on Taylor. You've held the town selectman title longer than anyone else. There's gotta be something you can do."

"I'm not asking for your support on this matter Luke, but you're right. There is something I can do, but I'll need your help. You see, my nephew may be the town selectman, but there's one title I hold he wants more than anything." Luke stared at Taylor, completely clueless to where Taylor was headed in this conversation. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this but the board of elders is in the process of selecting a new council. Each elder chooses someone to replace them. As of today, the board is just about ready to initiate the new elders. The only problem is: I haven't chosen my replacement yet."

"Wait. Aren't you the head elder?"

Taylor grinned. "That's what I came here to talk to you about."

* * *

Lorelai was finishing getting the house ready for their guests when the doorbell rang. She paused to stare at the plate of questionable cookies on the coffee table. Lana was in the girls scouts and trying to get her cooking badge. The cookies were her first attempt. Lorelai headed to the foyer to answer the door. As she had expected, it was the Stiles family. 

"Hi guys, you're right on time," Lorelai greeted with a smile. She stepped aside to let them in. "Did you have a problem finding the house?"

"No, we found it just fine," Jason replied without much enthusiasm.

"Lorelai, this house is beautiful," Nicole remarked as they followed Lorelai to the livingroom.

"Thanks," Lorelai said. "Luke bought it the minute it was on the market. He just _had_ to have it."

"So you've been living here for how long?"

"About seventeen years. Anthony, I'd hate for you to have to sit here and be bored. We have a lounge downstairs with a pool table, an entertainment center, video games, and stuff like that. Would you like to go down there? I think Will's down there practicing guitar."

"He'll go," Jason answered for his son. Anthony eyed his father. "I suggest you go downstairs."

"It's right through that door," Lorelai instructed. Anthony sighed and got up to go downstairs. Lorelai spotted Jason and Nicole reaching for a cookie and stopped them. "I wouldn't do that. My daughter's a girl scout and she's trying for the cooking badge. Unfortunately, she takes after me in that department." Lorelai took drink orders and passed them out to her guests.

"Lorelai, did I hear the doorbell earlier?" Luke asked as he came downstairs. He froze when he walked into the livingroom and saw Jason and Nicole. "Jason, Nicole. You're here. Lorelai, why didn't you call me?"

"If you weren't always locked in that study of yours, you would have heard the doorbell."

"If you had called my name, I would have came."

"Dirty!"

"Ah jeez." Luke sat on the opposite couch from Jason and Nicole and picked up one of the cookies. Before anyone could stop him, he took a bite of it and his face went sour. "Wut da hell did I juss put in my mouf?"

"Lana's cooking experiment," Lorelai replied, obviously fighting back a strong laugh.

"Dis is wealy howable." Lorelai handed Luke a napkin and he spit the cookie out. "I knew I hated cookies for a reason. Did you guys eat them?"

"No," Jason replied, chuckling a little.

"Great, so my wife is just trying to kill _me_."

"Ah. You've uncovered my secret plot."

"What good would it do you to kill me? All you'd get is a diner." Lorelai playfully hit the back of Luke's head. "Where's Anthony? I didn't exactly get to meet him yet."

"He went downstairs to your lounge to hang out with Will," Nicole replied.

"Your son's practicing for the Battle of the Bands competition that you refused to participate in," Lorelai teased as she handed Luke a drink and sat beside him.

"It's not going to matter anyway," Luke shrugged. "Travis cancelled the competition."

"What? When did this happen?"

"Taylor came to the diner earlier and told me Travis vetoed the competition and made it an open mic concert. I bet the prick did it because he doesn't have a lick of musical talent."

"What about the trophies?"

"I guess Taylor's going to have to return them or something."

"Urgh! This sucks!"

"Lorelai," Richard called as he walked in from the back porch. "I thought I heard a car earlier. Is Rory…" Richard trailed off when he saw Jason and Nicole. The couple stood to greet him.

"Mr. Gilmore," Jason greeted, extending his hand to the older man. "It's nice to see you again."

Richard stared at Jason and Nicole, obviously getting angrier by the second. "Dad, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Lorelai asked.

Richard stepped outside with Lorelai. Luke, Jason, and Nicole remained quiet and could hear the muffled voices from outside, but It wasn't clear exactly what was being said. Richard was yelling and Lorelai was yelling right back at him. They walked back inside and Richard silently took a seat in Luke's recliner and angrily stared at Jason and Nicole. Lorelai took her seat beside Luke after fixing Richard a drink.

"So Jason, Nicole, do you have any kids other than Anthony?" Luke asked, breaking the silence.

"No," Nicole replied. "Well, together anyway." Luke and Lorelai looked at Nicole questionably.

"I have a daughter in New Haven from my second marriage," Jason explained. "Anthony doesn't really like the idea of having a half-sister."

"I guess our sons are more like each other than we thought," Lorelai half-heartedly laughed. "Will loves Rory, but the idea of Luke or me being with someone else boils his blood."

"That's why we never told him about you and Lorelai or our marriage," Luke added. "And we'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about it around him or any of our kids."

"How many kids do you have?" Nicole asked.

"Four. Five counting Rory. There's Will, Emma's fourteen, Lana's eight, and Richie's four."

Suddenly, Richard slammed his fist onto the side table, making everyone jump a little. "This is ridiculous! I refuse to sit here and go along with this," Richard said forcefully.

"Dad, you promised," Lorelai said.

"This isn't right Lorelai!" Richard continued to yell as he stood. "Those boys fighting only proves that these families cannot get along. You of all people should understand that! How could you be so irresponsible Lorelai? I'm very disappointed in you."

Luke had heard enough. He jumped to his feet and stood toe to toe with his father-in-law. "You're out of line Richard," Luke stated.

"How dare you…"

"No. How dare _you_. You will not come into my house and yell at my wife. It's disrespectful. I You may be my father-in-law, but you're a guest here and if you continue to disrespect me and my wife I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"I do not like this Lucas. It's not right to have them here!"

"You're right. They shouldn't be here. I should say 'To hell with this. Get the hell out of my house' and kick them out. I'll just pull Will out of Chilton and enroll him into Stars High."

"What?" Richard and Lorelai asked at the same time.

"Have you lost you mind man?" Richard asked. "If you pull him out of Chilton he won't have a chance of getting into Harvard or Yale or Princeton…or _any_ ivy league college! It's suicide!"

"You're right. It'll be an excruciating blow to my son's educational career. Not to mention what it'd do to him in the long run. Speaking of which, think about Richard- the grandson of Richard Gilmore and the grandson of Floyd Stiles in business together. The two heirs of two of the greatest insurance men working together. By God, they'd be an unstoppable force! Now I'm not saying they have to be the best of friends, but it wouldn't hurt to be friends."

Richard thought seriously about what Luke had said. "They _would_ make an outstanding team."

"Alright. Why don't you take a seat and we can continue on with this evening in a civil manner."

Richard stared at his son-in-law for a few second and then a smile broke out across his face. "By God you're good," he laughed, taking his seat again.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Lorelai whispered to Luke as he sat down.

"I'm still a little shocked myself," Luke admitted.

"Luke's right," Jason remarked. "It would be beneficial if our sons got along. But that doesn't mean we have to." All eyes were on Jason at this point. "Look, you guys don't like us and we don't like you. Seriously, why do we have to have dinner and act like nothing has ever happened between our families?"

"Do not make a scene Jason," Nicole whispered loudly to her husband.

"No! That stupid headmaster is making us sit here and pretend to get along. Our sons are the problem, not us. Why should we be punished? I mean come on , what good is this going to do us? I say we drop the act and put an end to this. It's not like that brainless, piece of shit headmaster's going to find out."

"On the contrary Mr. Stiles," Max said, making his presence known, "that's where you're wrong." Max and Rachel stood with Rory and Logan at the entrance to the livingroom from the foyer. "Dominic," Max said to his thirteen year old son. "Bring your brother upstairs please."

"Yes Dad," Dominic said, quickly obeying his father.

"They were outside when we got here so we let them in with us," Rory told Luke and Lorelai.

"Headmaster, what are you doing here?" Nicole asked nervously as she and Jason stood.

"I didn't, but I'm glad I came."

"Headmaster Medina," Jason started. "About what I said…"

"Save it Stiles. You think I'm a brainless piece of shit Mr. Stiles? You know, I'm beginning to understand why Anthony acts the way he does. I mean, of course you'd act out if you were the son of an overly protective mother and negligent workaholic father who not only ignores his daughter in New Haven, but also his son at home."

"Max, come on. That's enough," Luke said as he tried to calm his friend down.

"Who the hell is Max?" Jason asked.

"I am," Max replied. "My family has been friends with Danes family for years. In fact, my wife and I are Luke and Lorelai's daughter Lana's godparents."

Jason laughed to himself. "No wonder their kid doesn't get into trouble."

"I don't treat Will any differently than any other student at my school. And I resent the fact that you would even suggest that I did."

"Headmaster Medina," Nicole called. "Please excuse my husband. He isn't thinking straight."

"You're excusing the problem Mrs. Stiles. Your boys cannot get along if their parents won't even try! It won't work unless you _all _try. That includes you Mr. Stiles! You need to lead by example! Now I thought that you could be civil for just one evening, but obviously I was wrong. I am here by enforcing that these families meet once a week to settle their differences."

"Now wait a minute!" Jason yelled as he jumped out of his seat. "You can't do that!"

"I can and I just did! If you had read your Chilton handbook, you would have known in extreme cases, the headmaster has compete authority to dictate the situation."

"Well I'm not going along with this."

"Very well then. Come Monday morning, your son will be expelled from Chilton Academy."

"No! We'll do it," Nicole said. She faced Jason. "You are _not_ getting our son expelled."

"Luke, Lorelai, do you two have any objections?"

"Doesn't seem like we have much of a choice," Lorelai sighed.

"Like Lorelai said, we don't have much of a choice," Luke said. "God I really wanna kick your ass right now."

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Emma notices that Tyler has been avoiding her and she confronts him. When Sam's biological father comes to town, he stirs up trouble. Lori accuses Will of having a thing for Lena. Luke and Lorelai spontaneously take off to spend a romantic weekend together._**

**A/N: I decided to cut Jess's scene out because there's enough drama going on don't you think? Lol. That scene will show up somewhere down the line. I have like two or three alternate opening dinner scenes because I couldn't decide which one I liked. This chapter was actually five pages longer, but I decided to use the other material for later. The alternates from this chapter and the extra scenes from _The Broken Road_ will be posted on my site by the end of the day.**


	11. The Biggest Jerk in the World

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 11- The Biggest Jerk in the World**

"How'd last night turn out?" Lori asked as she and Emma walked into the bookstore.

"From what I _saw_ it went fine, but from what I _heard_ it was a disaster," Emma replied.

"Grandpa's not going to jail for killing anyone is he?"

"Remarkably, Dad wasn't the problem. Uncle Max was."

"Uncle Max? No way. He never gets mad. Not even that time Uncle Jess, Uncle Dean, and Dad accidentally set his lawn on fire."

"Yeah, I still don't know how they managed to do that."

"I don't either. It may be better left unknown."

"I agree. Hey, how did you manage to get out of Friday night dinner anyhow?"

"Hope and Nate were sick. Mom and Dad were _required_ to make an appearance, so I got to dodge a bullet. Speaking of dodging bullets, I haven't seen your puppy lately."

"I don't have a puppy. Dad hates dogs."

"Not literally. I meant our infamous bag boy."

"Oh. Him."

"Yeah. Him. He's been MIA since you ran away from him in the middle of town square."

"I didn't run away from him in the middle of town square. I had to go home. But now that you mention it, I haven't seen Tyler anywhere in almost a week. Do you think he's avoiding me?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I mean, he put everything on the line and you totally bailed on him in front of the whole town. He really liked you and you turned him down in a really bad way."

"Thanks for making me feel better."

"The truth hurts."

"Was it really that bad?"

"I was hurting when I heard."

Emma sighed and turned a corner, accidentally bumping into someone. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's ok," the boy said. Emma immediately recognized his voice.

"Tyler."

Tyler's head shot up. "Emma," he said, stiffening. "Um. I, uh, gotta go." He put the book in his hand on the shelf and hurried out of the bookstore.

"What was that about?" Lori asked.

"I don't know," Emma replied. "I'll be back." She walked out the door and followed Tyler down the street. "Tyler!"

Tyler pretended not to hear Emma. "Please stop following me," he repeated to himself.

"Tyler! Hey! I'm talking to you! Stop right now or I'll scream and everyone will think you're hurting me!"

Tyler quickly turned around. "I can't talk right now. I have to get back to work."

"Well don't worry, this'll only take a second. I don't get it Tyler, you ask me out and then you ignore me. Is this an ego thing? I didn't accept your offer so you hate me?"

"No, it's not that…"

"Then what is it?"

Tyler just stared blankly at Emma. He took a deep breath. "I can't see you anymore."

"I'm not asking to go out with you. I thought we could at least be friends."

"We can't see each other. We can't be friends. We can't talk. I can't be seen with you."

Emma started to get angry. Soon, the anger got the best of her. She slapped Tyler."You and your ego can go straight to hell! You, Tyler Doose, are the biggest jerk in the world!"

* * *

Lori walked out of the bookstore and headed to the diner in search of Emma. She looked through the windows hoping to see Emma. Instead, there was another familiar sight to the town and the diner. There was a man standing behind the counter in a flannel shirt and baseball cap, his hands placed a good distance apart on the counter as he listened to the brown haired woman rant about her day and sipped at her coffee. But the people she was watching weren't her grandparents. It was their son and her mother's ex-boyfriend's daughter. Will even had the same look in his eye as he listened to Lena that Luke had when he listened to Lorelai. Lori walked into the diner just as Lena finished her rant and coffee. 

"Urgh," Lena sighed. "I'm sorry Will. I didn't mean to bore you."

"You didn't bore me," Will said. "This was actually the highlight of my day."

Lena laughed and gave his hand a squeeze. "Thanks. You're sweet. A liar, but sweet."

Will shook his head. "Anytime. If you ever need an ear to rant into, I'm here."

"Thanks Will. I'll see you later."

Will waved to Lena as she left. "Hey Lena," Lori greeted with a smile.

"Hey Lori. I'd stay and tell you about my horrible day, but I'm supposed to help my aunt move into her new apartment."

"Completely understood. I just came by to have a word with my uncle anyway. And if I do it right and get my way, by the time I'm through he'll be in the corner crying like a little girl."

"Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. Ok, I gotta go. I'll see you later."

"Later." Lori took a seat at the counter after Lena left. "So how long has _that_ been going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I assume- hoping really- you'll stop talking all together when I give you coffee," Will said as he wiped down the counter.

"Come on Will. I know you've been outta school for a week, but you can't be that stupid." Will glared at his niece. "Lena."

"What about her?"

"Oh come on Will. I saw the way you were looking at her before I walked in. It's the same look Grandpa gives Grandma. You like her don't you?"

Will laughed as he refilled the coffee pots. "You've lost your mind Lori. Lena and I are friends. _Best_ friends at that."

"Grandpa and Grandma were _best_ friends too. Why are you denying it?"

"Because it's not true."

"I think you're in denial."

"If you came here just to harass me, then you'll have to hit the pause button because I'm trying to work here."

"Actually, I came to ask if you've seen Emma."

"Nope. Try the bookstore."

"That's where she ditched me."

"Should I be concerned?" Just then, Emma burst through the diner doors and ran over to her brother, hugging him as she began to cry. "Em? What's wrong? What happened?"

"It was horrible Will," Emma cried. "What he said to me…he's a jerk!"

"Who?"

"Tyler Doose!" Will held his sister as she continued to cry. He looked over at Lori. She knew from that look that Tyler Doose was going to be sorry he ever met Emma Danes.

* * *

Luke laid in bed on his side with a smile plastered on his face as he watched Lorelai brush her hair in front of her vanity only wearing a silk robe. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "Like what you see?" she teased. 

"Oh you know I do," he grinned. "Come back to bed and I'll show you how much."

Lorelai walked over to the bed and laid beside- more like on top of- Luke, entangling her legs with his and playing with the hairs on his chest. "What? You haven't gotten enough of me in the last two and a half hours?"

"I could never get enough of you. Have you noticed that lately, the only time we can have sex is on our breaks or when the kids are at your dad's?"

"That makes me sad. Sometimes I wish we could get away from everything and just be together. You know, just take off."

"Ok. Let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Take off."

"There's nothing else for you to take off. You're already naked," Lorelai joked, but then she saw the look in Luke's eyes and sat up. "You're serious."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Luke asked as he sat up. "Let's do it babe. Let's just pack up and leave for the weekend."

"Luke! We can't leave. What about the kids? The inn? The diner?"

"We can find someone to watch the kids. Tell Sookie you won't be back today or in tomorrow. Will's watching the diner and tomorrow's my day off anyway."

"Where would we go?"

"The family cabin. The whole family's supposed to go up in a few weeks anyway. We can get the place ready."

"I can't remember the last time you were this spontaneous." Lorelai got off the bed and headed to the dresser. "Well, come on. Get up and start packing!"

Luke quickly got out of bed, pulled his boxers on, and started packing. When they were done packing, Lorelai followed Luke out to his truck as he loaded their bags back in the back.

"So when are we coming back?" Lorelai asked as she got in the truck.

"Tomorrow night or Monday morning," Luke replied.

"Let's make it Monday."

Luke smiled. "Monday it is."

Lorelai loved this side of Luke. He was always the one to think rationally. He was the one that always asked "What about the kids?", "Where are we going?", "Where are we staying?", and "How long will we be gone?" He was the one to think ahead and about work. His spontaneity turned her on and right now she was struggling not to jump him right then and there.

* * *

Will sighed as he walked up the path toward the house. It had been a long day at the diner. The lunch rush spilled into the dinner rush and Kirk was being Kirk. To add to all the madness, his father never returned from his break. There was no phone call, no email, no message, no gossip, no sky writing, nothing. He would have been mad at his dad if he hadn't been so busy and by the time it had slowed down, he had forgotten he was mad. 

By the time he made it to the door, he had forgotten where he put his keys so he just rang the doorbell. He was surprised when the door opened and the person on the other side wasn't his mom or his dad, but his grandfather.

"William," Richard greeted with a smile. Will walked into the house with a confused expression on his face. "Long day at the diner?"

"Um, yeah," Will replied as he took off his jacket and followed Richard to the livingroom. "Uh, Grandpa? I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

"Your mother called me. She asked if I could come and watch you children."

"Where'd she go?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't say."

"When are they coming back?"

"She didn't tell me that either. She just said was she and your father would be gone for a few days and asked if I could stay here with you and your siblings."

"Hey Will," Rory greeted as she walked into the room with a laundry basket.

"Rory?" Will asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom and Dad asked if I could give Grandpa a hand. I'm just here to do the laundry."

"Do you know where they went?"

"Nope. Oh, Will, Sam's downstairs waiting for you. He got in a fight with his dad and came here. You weren't home, but he said he'd wait for you. I thought he got along with his dad."

"He must have gotten into a fight with his biological dad." Rory raised a brow. "His biological dad bailed on him and his mom before he was born. He took his step-dad's last name."

"Oh. Well, um, I gotta put this away. Logan should be here soon with dinner."

"What? Mom and Pops leave and we throw a big party?"

"Mom thought Grandpa would like some help to get what they do done while they're gone."

"Huh?"

"You're so cute when you're confused." Rory pinched Will's cheek as she proceed upstairs.

Will headed downstairs to find Sam in the lounge, slouching on the couch playing video games. "What are you doing?" Will asked.

"Playing _Halo 2_. You wanna join?" Sam replied.

"No." Will walked over to the TV and turned it off. "I meant at my house. Dude, your dad is in town. You know, that guy you haven't seen since you were six. Don't you think you should be spending time with him?"

"You'd think that wouldn't you?"

"Will!" Logan called from the top of the stairs. "I brought home dinner!"

"I'll be right up Logan!" Will yelled back. "You can stay for dinner, but then you're gone."

"What about dessert?"

"Then you are gone." Will and Sam went upstairs to have dinner. Will was surprised to see Jess and Dean in the kitchen. "Jess, Dean, what are you guys doing here?"

"We all ran into each other at Al's," Jess replied.

"Yeah and he invited us to stay for dinner," Dean added. "Plus my daughter's here."

"I bought enough food for the whole town anyway," Logan shrugged. "Girls! Food!"

Emma, Lori, and Lena came running into the kitchen. Lena looked up at Will and Sam and smiled. "Hi guys," she greeted.

"He," Will greeted with a smile. Lori gave Will a teasing look. "Are we eating at the table?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Rory replied.

"Cool. Sam and I are gonna eat downstairs and play video games."

"That code for you found your dad's dirty magazines?" Dean teased.

"Ah jeez. 'Dad' and 'dirty' are two words I never wanna hear in a sentence together." Will and Sam went back downstairs.

Dinner was nearly over when the doorbell rang. Logan got up to answer it. When he opened the door, a tall, blonde man in Army formals stood on the other side, his hat tucked under his arm.

"Hi," Logan greeted. "Can I help you sir?"

"Yes. I'm here to pick up my son, Samuel Lawson," the man replied.

"Oh, you're Sam's dad. He's best friends with my brother-in-law. I'm Logan Huntzberger." Logan extended his hand to the man.

"Captain Tristin DuGrey."

"Well, come on in Captain." Logan stepped aside to let Tristin in. "You can wait in the livingroom while I get Sam if you'd like."

"Thank you. This is a nice place you have."

"Oh it's not my place. It's my in-laws'. My wife and I are just helping out around here while her folks are gone."

"Where'd they go?"

"Not sure."

Confused, Tristin followed Logan into the livingroom where he saw a few familiar faces. Everyone turned their heads to see none other than Tristin DuGrey and their smiles faded.

"Captain DuGrey, these are my good friends Dean Forrester and Jess Mariano and my wife Rory," Logan introduced. "Guys, this is Captain Tristin DuGrey. He's Sam's dad."

"Long time no see Mary," Tristin mocked.

"Actually, her name is Ror…wait, you know my wife?"

"We went to high school together for a while. And lookie who else is here, the bag boy!"

Jess jumped in Dean's path, stopping his friend from ripping Tristin apart. "Dean, cool it. Richard's upstairs and you might give him a heart attack if someone screams bloody murder."

"Wait a minute, I know you. You're the kid from the diner!"

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?" Logan asked. "You all know him?"

"Unfortunately," Rory said. She got up and headed to the lounge.

"Where you going Mary?" Tristin asked.

"Away from you." Logan stopped Rory, asking her what was going on with her eyes. "I'm going to get Sam." Logan let her go.

Rory walked out of the room and to the lounge. "Sam," she called. "Your dad's here."

"Can you tell him I'm not here?" Sam asked, half-joking.

"Sam, your father is here," Rory repeated. Sam didn't exactly pick up on the agitation in Rory's voice, but Will knew it all too well. It was a look that also meant there was about to be trouble.

"Uh, Sam, I think it might be time to go," Will said.

Sam sighed and followed the siblings upstairs. Half way up the stairs, they heard yelling. When they walked through the door, they found Dean and Jess holding back a very angry Logan.

"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" Logan yelled as he struggled against his friends.

"That's exactly why we're not letting you go!" Dean shouted.

"He's a military officer Logan!" Jess stated. "You hit him and you can be sent to jail."

"Dad? Is something wrong?" Lori asked as she, Emma, and Lena appeared on the stairs.

"Get back upstairs!" Will ordered. The girls hurried up the stairs, but stayed in ear shot. "Logan, stop! Come on. The neighbors are gonna call the police!"

"These are the kind of people my son is around?" Tristin asked angrily. He turned to Sam. "I don't want you hanging out with this kid anymore!"

"What?" Sam and Will yelled at the same time.

"Now wait a minute!" Rory interjected. "My brother and my family are great people. Maybe the problem here is _you_. Captain DuGrey, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Excuse me?" Tristin asked, taking a step toward Rory.

Will protectively stood between his sister and a man that could probably beat him within an inch of his life. "Sir, I believe my sister asked you to leave," Will said calmly. "If you do not do so on your own, I'll be forced to call the police."

"You wouldn't dare."

"What's going on down here?" Richard asked as he walked downstairs. He surveyed what he saw and crossed his arms over his chest. "Tristin DuGrey."

"Mr. Gilmore," Tristin said innocently, moving toward Richard.

Richard raised his hand, stopping Tristin. "Save your breath young man. I know all about you. You walked out on that dear girl when she was pregnant with your child and then you ignored the boy for years. I don't care for your type. Your grandfather, rest his soul, was a good man and you are not fit to carry the DuGrey name. I believe you were asked to leave. I suggest you do so or I will call the authorities. And my son-in-law is a very powerful man in this town so I would think very hard about what I am going to do."

Tristin looked around the room full of angry faces. "Sam, it's time to leave," he finally said. Sam sighed and nodded. He followed his father out the door.

"Now, would someone like to tell me what's going on?" Richard asked.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Logan, Dean, and Jess said at the same time. They began to disperse, looking anywhere but at Richard or Rory.

No one but Logan, Jess, Dean, and Tristin knew what had started the fight. And it would probably stay that way. The words exchanged between the three friends and the Army captain would stay between the three friends and the Army captain. There was one thing for sure- they hadn't seen the last of Tristin DuGrey.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Will angrily confronts Tyler about Emma and Tyler turns the tables on Will. Rory finds out life altering news, but Logan isn't the one by her side when she finds out- Jess is. Lorelai tells Luke she knows his secret._**

**A/N: So...Tristin. What do you think? I personally never really liked him. Arrogant bastard. Lol. But yeah, expect him to stir up more tension with Logan and Rory. For those who probably feel I've crushed the Tyler/Emma relationship possibility, don't worry. I haven't. I need the tension to entice Will to do something...well, stupid. There's going to be alot of surprises down that road so hold on for the ride because it's gonna get bumpy. For those that are worrying about Luke, well you might have a reason to worry soon. And finally, I will close this author's note in saying- I have a new fic. Lol. You're all probably wondering, "What the hell is she talking about? She hasn't posted a new fic here!" That's because it's not here. It's one of my board's exclusives. It's called "Regret" and deals with the idea of an on going estrangement between Lorelai and Rory. I know it's been done millions of times more, but this seriously is different. If you'd like to read it, please go to my board and leave a feedback. I only update if I get feedback. The link to my site is in my profile. Ok. I'll get back to working on my smutty _The Broken Road_ update.**


	12. Every action has a reaction

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**A/N: I've been getting requests for a run down of whose kid is whose. So here's a quick run down.  
Luke and Lorelai- Will (16), Emma (14), Lana (8), and Richie (4)  
Rory and Logan- Lori (13), Hope (8), and Nate (8 months)  
Jess- Holden (_Not yet introduced_- 13), Oliver aka Ollie (8), and Noah (_Not yet introduced- _9 months)  
Max and Rachel- Dominic (13) and Jeffrey (8)  
Lane and Dave- Joey (13) and Paul (8)  
Sookie and JAckson- Davey (19), Josh (17), and Martha (8)  
Dean and Lindsey- Lena (16)  
Misc. teen characters- Sam Lawson (Tristin DuGrey's son; 16), Anthony Stiles (Jason and Nicole's son; 16), Tyler Doose (Taylor's great nephew; 14).**

**Chapter 12- Every action has a reaction**

"Morning Lulu, Kirk," Will greeted as he walked over to their table with his ordering pad. "What can I get you?"

"I'll have eggs, toast, and coffee please," Lulu replied.

"Can I ask you a question Will?" Kirk asked.

"I told you before Kirk, I can't make your eggs half scrambled and half sunny side up. But I can make you two separate eggs, one sunny side up and the other scrambled," Will replied.

"I wanted to get confirmation regarding a rumor I heard. Is it true Tyler Doose told Emma she wasn't good enough to be his friend, let alone girlfriend?"

Will glared at Kirk. "Kirk, do you know what my father would do to you if he had heard you asking that question?"

"Hurt me? Very badly?"

"Yes. He would have hurt you very, very badly."

"Is he here?"

"No, but I suggest you watch what you say in this establishment. I'll be back with your food in a few minutes." Will headed back to the kitchen to place Kirk and Lulu's orders with Caesar. He turned around to see Tyler across the street. "Caesar, I'll be back in five minutes!"

Will put his ordering pad and headed out the door like a man on a mission. When everyone saw where he was headed and realized there were about to be fireworks, they flocked to the nearest window to watch the confrontation.

"Hey!" Will barked at Tyler as he neared him.

Tyler looked up to see Will. "I'm not in the mood right now Will," he sighed. "I gotta get to…"

Before Tyler could finish his sentence, Will grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the side of the gazebo. "I warned you," Will growled. "I warned you not to hurt my baby sister!"

"I didn't!"

"Are you calling that sweet, innocent girl a liar?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then you did hurt her!"

"No!"

"It's one or the other bag boy."

"I didn't hurt her!"

"So you're calling her a liar?"

Tyler was getting pretty tired of being pushed around. He took it as a kid, but he had just about enough. He shoved Will off of him. "I am sick and tired of you and this stupid town telling me I'm a piece of crap because the town's little princess goes crying to big brother after I do what _he_ told me to do."

"I told you to stay away from her. I didn't tell you to make her cry! What the hell did you say to her Doose?"

"I told her I couldn't see her, I couldn't be her friend, I couldn't talk to her, I couldn't be seen with her! I was doing what _you _told me to! I'm not the one that hurt her Will. _You_ did!"

"What are you talking about?"

"She liked me! Your sister liked me Will and because I was respecting you, I broke her heart! She could have been happy with me, but you can't get past the fact I'm a Doose. Look, I get it ok? I get that your dad is some kind of local legend and you're the town golden boy so I shouldn't be messing with you or your family. What you need to realize is that I like Emma and Emma likes me. Maybe I could have made her happy, but we'll never know as long as you keep this stupid feud between our families brewing. You do whatever you want. Kick my ass. Call me an asshole. Tell me to go to hell. It doesn't matter because beating me up may make you feel better, but it's not gonna do Emma any good. Now if you'd excuse me, I need to get to work." Tyler started walking past Will and stopped right beside him. "Don't you have a diner to run?"

Will could feel the blood begin to boil under his skin. Tyler was purposely pushing his buttons, trying to get Will to hit him. Will turned his head to see just why Tyler wanted him to throw a punch. He let out a breath and crossed the street. He forced a smile on his face. "Hey Emma."

* * *

Jess couldn't believe he was here. He couldn't understand why or how he allowed himself to get into these messes. _You're a victim of habit,_ he told himself. And that was probably true. He never could out his foot down. He couldn't just say no and be done with it. He allowed the people around him to persuade him from his decisions. He was soft. He wasn't always that man. He became that man nearly two decades ago when he allowed a blue eyed beauty captivate him. Rory never did let go of that hold. 

Jess didn't bother to look up when someone sat beside him on the bench. He took a deep breath and stared at his shoes. "So, did you do it?" he asked.

"Yes," Rory replied softly.

"And?"

Rory took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm making an appointment for next week." Jess let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. This was going to be a big mess. "You're going to come with me right?"

"What?"

"To the appointment. Are you going to come with me?"

"I don't think I should."

"Please Jess. I need you to be there."

He sat back and started to scratch his head. _Say no, _he was telling himself. _Take a stand and say no!_ But the words coming out of his mouth were much different. "I have to work all next week so tell me when it is and I'll make sure my lunch break is at that time."

"Thank you Jess."

Jess didn't say anything. He just nodded his head and kept from making eye contact with her. He hated himself for the man he was. He was a widower comforting another man's wife. He was disgusted with himself. What made him even more sick to his stomach was the fact most of the arguments he had with his late wife was about Rory. It was about Jess's never ending need to help her and make sure she was happy.

Joan knew how much Jess had cared for Rory. And though Jess denied it, Joan knew he still loved her. She believe he had settled for her. Jess tried to convince his wife that she was the love of his life, but a part of her wouldn't allow herself to believe that. When Joan had passed away, Jess had to live with the fact that his wife believed she was only second in his life.

"I need to get back to work. Lo…" Jess stopped himself from mentioning Logan's name. "I might get in trouble for taking more than an hour break."

"Oh. Ok. So I guess I'll call you later?"

"Yeah. I guess." Jess stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. "If I'm not home, call my cell."

"Alright. Thanks again."

"Yeah. No problem. Hey Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone I'm doing this for you."

"Why…"

"Please. Just…keep it to yourself. I don't want people to ask questions."

"Alright. Whatever you want."

"If I got what I wanted, we wouldn't be having this conversation." On that note, Jess proceeded down the street to work.

Rory sat by herself for a while longer. She watched a group of small children pass her by. She remembered coming to the park as a little girl and envying the other girls who came with their daddies. She had hoped Logan would take their kids to the park to play, but those moments were few and far between. Logan was a busy man whose schedule rarely allowed him to spend afternoons at the park with his children. Lori and Hope spent those afternoons with Luke. He always made time for the girls and he would make time for Nathan when it came time.

"I hope Luke will be up to spending his time with one more baby," Rory sighed as she placed a hand on her stomach. She grabbed her purse and headed home.

Little did she know, someone was sitting behind her on a nearby bench and could hear every word she said. He grinned to himself and turned around to watch Rory walk away. "Mary, Mary, quite contrary," Tristin laughed to himself. Oh, he was going to have a lot of fun with this one.

* * *

Lorelai walked out of the bedroom and headed for the kitchen to find Luke at the stove. She walked up behind him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his shoulder. 

"Mm. Smells good," she said.

"Me or the food?" Luke joked.

"Both." Lorelai peaked over his shoulder to look at what he was making. "Bacon, eggs, hash browns, _and_ pancakes? When did you have time to make all of this?"

"You know, there are people that wake up before eight thirty on a Sunday. Now, go sit down at the table. Breakfast will be ready in a minute. There's coffee on the table."

"Ah. You do love me."

"Something like that," Luke joked. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before she headed to the table. A minute later, Luke walked over to the table with two plates in hand. He noticed that the once full coffee pot was now less than half empty. "You drank a whole pot of coffee in less than five minutes?"

"You act surprised."

"I am. You usually inhale that stuff in three."

"What can I say? I'm off my game."

Luke laughed as he placed a plate in front of Lorelai. They sat in silence for a while. "Can we talk about something?"

Lorelai looked up at Luke, a little surprised. "Um, sure. About what?"

"I wanted to talk about Richie and the operation." Lorelai sighed and put her fork down. She sat back and waited to hear what her husband had to say. "We've done our research and the statistics say it's a good idea."

"Well, how are we going to pay for it? We put the money your dad left you when we got married toward college funds and savings for the kids. We don't have forty thousand dollars laying around."

"I know we don't. I'll get the money."

"How?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to do anything illegal. Just know I'll get the money." Lorelai shook her head. "Why don't you want this for Richie?"

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Then we'll deal Lorelai."

"But then we'll be doing this for nothing."

"We're giving him a chance at a better life. I think that constitutes as something."

"But is it worth the risk?"

"Life is about risks Lorelai."

"Are we still talking about Richie or are we talking about you?"

Luke raised a brow. "What?"

"Oh don't play dumb Luke. I know."

"You know what?"

"I know your big secret." Luke froze, unable to breathe now. "Did you honestly think you could keep it from me?"

"H…how…"

"Sookie told me."

"Sookie? How does Sookie know?"

"Jackson told her."

"How does _Jackson_ know?"

"The same thing happened to him! Luke, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how."

"You could have just told me." She started to play with the food remaining on her plate. "I'll tell you one thing. I'm very happy about this."

Luke nearly choked on his food. "Excuse me?"

"Luke, this is a _wonderful_ thing! You really deserve this."

Luke couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was his wife seriously saying she was happy he had a heart condition? "I'm sorry. You lost me for a minute. Did you just say I deserve this?"

"Yes." Now he was mortified. "You're an essential part of this town. You've lived here longer than anyone else so why not? It's only right that they honor you with this honor. I admit, I didn't want to believe it at first, because come on. It's you. But then I got to thinking and I realized that you really, truly deserve this."

"I don't think I do."

"Of course you do honey. This is a really big honor. Luke, you're a town elder! And not just _any_ town elder either. You're the _head_ town elder!" The color started to return to Luke's face. For a while, he thought he was going to have a heart attack right then and there. "I know you're skeptical about town stuff, but trust me. This is a good thing."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Luke allowed himself to smile. "You know what, you're right. This is a good thing. And I'm glad it's happening."

"So am I."

"So, Jackson's on the board too?"

"Yeah. Jackson, Andrew, Bootsy, and Pete are all on the board. You didn't know?"

"No. Taylor didn't tell me who else would be on the board."

"Taylor? What does he have to do with anything?"

"He's handing the position over to me. It's tradition for the elders to hand select their replacements. You know, my father served on the board for five years before he passed away. And my grandfather, he was an elder for twenty years."

"Wow. That's quite a family history."

"Yup."

"Well, Mr. Danes, I plan to show you just how much I appreciate you," Lorelai said seductively as she got up and sat on his lap.

"Oh really? What about breakfast?"

"I'm hungry for something else."

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Lori walks in on Will and finds him in a very compromising position. Lorelai plans a big party for Luke. Richard meets up with a designer for his office. Luke overwhelms himself trying to find a way to pay for Richie's operation and has an anxiety attack, which Max witnesses._**

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. I was going over this fic the other day and I was taking alook at the teenagers' pairings and I realized that Lori didn't have a love interest. So I thought it would be fun if you, the reader, chose who that certain someone would be. You can pick from any of the male teens in the story (introduced or not) or we can create a character. There'll be a poll on my board for you guys to finalize the decision. Yeah, that's about it. No witty comments. If you review, I'll love you forever.**


	13. I didn't see a thing

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 13- I didn't see a thing**

Lori walked into the diner and smiled when she saw Luke standing behind the counter. "Hi Grandpa," she greeted.

"Hey Lori," Luke smiled. Lori walked behind the counter and gave him a big hug before sitting at the counter.

"I missed you this weekend. Where'd you and Grandma go?"

"Out of town. We just wanted some alone time. How'd things go around here?"

"Ok. Oh but the diner is now under Uncle Finn's management thanks to a bad poker hand Will played Saturday night. And how fond of Richie are you, because he's gone too."

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Luke pulled out a cup and poured some coffee for his granddaughter. "How was school?"

"It was ok I guess. I have to write a report on _Beowulf_."

"They still make you read that? I read it when I was in high school many, _many_ years ago."

"You're not _that_ old." Luke chuckled. "Is Will here? I wanna borrow the book from him."

"I gave him the day off since I ditched him this weekend. He's at Joey's for band practice. You're more than welcome to swing by the house to get the book if you want."

"I'll do that. Right after I drink my coffee." Lori smiled as she brought the mug to her lips. She took a sip and then put the cup down, giving Luke a skeptical look. "Grandpa, this is decaf."

"Damn it," Luke cursed himself for getting caught. "You shouldn't drink coffee." Lori looked up him with pleading eyes. It didn't take long before Luke gave in and poured her some coffee in a to-go cup. "Junkie."

"Curse of the Lorelais. Ok, I gotta go. Thanks Grandpa."

Lori grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. She headed down the street toward her grandparents' house. She grabbed the spare key in the ceramic turtle's house. She unlocked the door and walked inside. She dropped her bag in the foyer and threw the coffee cup away in the kitchen. She froze when she thought she heard something. She shrugged and continued up the stairs. Another noise. She ignored the sounds, convincing it was just in her head.

Lori walked down the hall to Will's room and opened the door. "Oh my God!" she gasped at the sight in front of her. She shut her eyes and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

She stood in the hall, her heart pounding from shock and embarrassment, as she tried to comprehend what she had just seen. She had just walked in on Will having…Lori shook her head of the mental images of her uncle having sex. She really didn't want to think of him doing…that. She could hear Will and his…lady friend talking. Lori thought the woman's voice sounded familiar, but she didn't want to stay long enough to find out who she was. She hurried down the stairs when she heard footsteps coming closer to the door.

"Lori," Will called as he walked out of his room. He only had his boxers on because he didn't have time to put other clothes on. He needed to talk to Lori before she left. He ran downstairs and caught up with Lori just as she was about to walk out the door. "Lori!"

"I'm really sorry Will," Lori said, not looking at her uncle. "I didn't know you were…ah jeez. I'm sorry I walked in on you. I'll just leave."

"No, no. We really need to talk about this."

"No, we really don't. I don't wanna talk about it. Or think about it."

"Lori…"

"Will, please. Just let me go."

"Lorelai Christina Huntzberger, we _really_ need to talk. I need to straighten this out with you. And I need to make sure you don't tell a soul."

"Oh trust me. I'm not gonna tell anyone anything."

"Lori, please. We need to talk."

Lori sighed and looked up at him for the first time. "Fine. But put some clothes on first."

Will nodded and went back upstairs. Lori looked down at her feet feeling very uncomfortable about the whole situation and the upcoming talk she was going to have with Will. And things were just about to get worse.

"Lori," a familiar voice called from the stairs.

Lori's body stiffened. No, it couldn't be…She slowly looked up to confirm her suspicions. "Lena?"

* * *

"Fire up the stove because we have a party to plan!" Lorelai shouted excitedly as she walked into the kitchen. 

Sookie looked up and laughed. "What party?" she asked with a giggle.

"The big party I'm going to throw Luke."

"Why are you throwing Luke a party? Is it his birthday? It can't be his birthday. That's in November. Oh! Are you pregnant again?"

"What? No! Sookie, I'm not pregnant. Luke had that vasectomy four years ago."

"The last time you said that, Richie popped out of you nine months later. I still find that weird how the surgery didn't work."

"Well," Lorelai shrugged, "he's got super sperm, but no. I'm not pregnant."

Sookie giggled as she went back to chopping. "So if it's not Luke's birthday and he didn't knock you up again, what are we celebrating?"

"We're celebrating the fact that my husband, the father of four of my children, and more importantly, my coffee provider, has agreed to be the town's head elder." Lorelai let out a breath and smiled. "I can't believe it Sook. Luke, _my _Luke, is going to be the head town elder. That's like the biggest political power in town. He'll have more authority than the mayor! This is so exciting! Isn't it exciting?"

"Um hm."

Lorelai could tell by the way Sookie refused to look at her and the expression on her face, she didn't really mean what she had said. "Sook?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not excited."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not. I can see it in your face."

"Well…" Sookie sighed and put down her knife before facing her friend. "You don't find any of this…weird? I mean…it's Luke."

"I know it's Luke. He deserves this."

"I agree. I totally agree with you sweetie, but…it's Luke. He _hates_ getting involved in town functions and suddenly he's going to agree to being the center of town affairs? Your warning flares have to be up."

"I'll admit I was pretty surprised at first too, but he isn't necessarily going to have to be at these functions."

"Well, why didn't he tell you?"

"He was embarrassed. And come on, it's Luke. He doesn't like to be the center of attention."

"And throwing him a big party isn't going to make him the center of attention?"

Lorelai sighed. "Sookie, do you know what he told me?"

"What?"

"His father was a town elder for five years before he died. _And_ his grandfather served twenty-four years on the board. His family has been helping out this town since it was founded. He's feeling guilty because he doesn't think he's living up to his family's potential."

"I'm sorry Lorelai, but I'm not buying it. Not completely at least. There's something else. I know there is. I can feel it."

"Sookie, please," Lorelai said with pleading eyes. "I just want to throw him this party. Let me throw my husband this party."

Lorelai knew Sookie was right. She knew there was another reason Luke was doing this beside the reasons he had given her. And it was tearing her up inside that Luke felt he needed to hide whatever it was. Sookie's heart broke for Lorelai.

"Alright. We'll throw him a party," Sookie said. Lorelai hugged her, whispering a thank you. "So where are we having this big, extravagant party that'll tell the town who their next generation of town elders is going to be, thus breaking a three hundred year old tradition?"

"I was thinking town square," Lorelai half-joked.

"So we can rub it in our ancestors' faces?"

"Exactly."

* * *

"Luke," Max called as he headed upstairs to Luke's office. He knocked on the door before walking in. When there was no response, Max let himself in. Luke was sitting at the table, obviously deep in thought. "Luke," Max called again, finally getting his attention. 

"Max," Luke said as he sat back. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Obviously not. I can to drop this thing off." Max placed a hammer on the table. "Is everything ok? You look…worried."

"I just have a lot on my mind."

"You, uh, wanna…talk about it?"

Luke raised a brow. "Are we allowed to do that? I mean, we're guys."

All men had an firm understanding that when together, they talked about manly things like sports, fixing things, beer, women, buildings, business, etc. They never talked about feelings or what was bothering them. The Stars Hollow men were no exception to the rule.

"I don't know." Max sat across the table from Luke. "You wanna give it a try? I mean, the girls do it all the time."

"It's not weird?"

"Oh this is definitely weird, but you really look like you've got something troubling you. We're friends and friends help each other out right?"

"I guess…"

"Ok then. What's on your mind?"

Luke sighed and leaned forward again. "I finally talked Lorelai into letting Richie have that operation," he said.

"Really? That's great!" Luke stared blankly at Max. "That's not great. Why isn't it great?"

"I can't afford the surgery."

"I'm pretty sure your insurance will cover it."

"The insurance will cover the surgery itself. But it doesn't cover therapy, the antibiotics, and the additional medical treatments."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not a Rockefeller and I can't afford to have a health plan that'll cover the therapy, antibiotic, and additional medical treatments. I talked to that ear specialist we've been taking him to and he gave me another estimate of how much it'll cost."

"And?"

"I'll have to sell my truck, my house, my diner, my kids, my liver, my kidneys, and other parts of my body. Then I'll just have to figure out how I'm going to get the other half of the money."

"You know Rachel and I love Richie and we'd be more than happy to…"

"Max, I know where you're going and don't. I don't want to borrow money from you. Lorelai and I have money. Just not that kind of money."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Luke sighed as he got up and started to pace around. "I could always get another job."

"With the hours you put in at the diner? How are you gonna do that?"

"I don't know! I have to do something! I can't pull Will and Emma out of Chilton because without it they'll never get into an ivy league college."

"If you're not willing to ask for help, you're never gonna get through this. Maybe Logan…"

"Whoa! No, no, no. I am _not_ asking Logan and Rory for money. I'm not that desperate."

"Then what Luke? You're not getting anywhere."

"I don't know!" Luke yelled.

He suddenly felt really dizzy and there was a pain shooting in his chest. _No, not now!_ Luke yelled in his mind. He could see Max stand up and take a few steps toward him. His lips were moving, but Luke couldn't hear what he was saying. Luke fell to the floor in pain clutching his chest. Max immediately went to his friend's side.

"Luke," Max said worriedly. "What's wrong? Luke. Luke! I'm calling a doctor."

"No," Luke managed to strangle out. "No doctors."

"You're insane. You _need_ to see a doctor."

"Damn it Max! I said…argh!" Luke shut his eyes tightly as the pain shot through his chest again. He grabbed Max's shirt when Max tried to get up to call a doctor. "Please," he begged through ragged breaths. "Don't…don't call a doctor."

"Why? Why don't you want me to get you help?"

"Lorelai doesn't know."

"She doesn't know what?" Luke said nothing as his breathing slowly returned to normal. "If you don't tell me, I'm calling nine-one-one and then I'm calling Lorelai…"

"I have coronary heart disease," Luke blurted out.

Max stared at him in shock. "I'm sorry. I thought you said you have…" Luke slowly nodded. "Holy crap. You have…you're. Oh man. I should have known something was up when Rachel told me you collapsed."

"She told you about that?" Luke asked as he slowly got to his feet.

"Of course she did! You scared the shit out of her! How did Lorelai take it when you told her?" Luke said nothing. "You haven't told her! You _have_ to tell her!"

"I can't! Not with Will getting into trouble every other day, Richie needing this surgery, and Rory and Logan having marital problems. I can't…I can't dump this on her. Not now. You can't tell her Max. You have to swear you won't say anything to her." Max just shook his head. "Max! You have to swear not to tell Lorelai!"

"I'm not getting in the middle of this!"

"Then don't be! If you don't say a word to Lorelai about this, you're off the hook! It's like you don't even know."

"Yeah, but I_ do_ know!"

"She doesn't know that. Come on Max. I'm giving you an out here. Take it or leave it."

"I won't say anything if you let me help you with Richie's surgery."

"Max…"

"Take it or leave it."

Luke took a deep breath. "It's just a loan. I'm gonna pay you back every penny."

"I know you will. So we cool?"

"You won't tell Lorelai?"

"You'll take the money?"

"I'll take a reasonable amount of money."

"I won't tell Lorelai." Max turned to leave, but paused at the door. "Just, do me a favor Luke. Promise me you'll tell Lorelai. Not now or tomorrow, but before it's too late."

"I'll tell her." Max nodded and walked out of the apartment. Luke sat down at the table and buried his face in his hands, letting out a long sigh. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Logan is worried about Rory when she's constantly ill. Will is in a bad mood when Emma, Lori, and Lena find him at Luke and Lorelai's house. Lorelai and Richie spot Luke walking out of the hospital in Hartford._**

**A/N: Happy Turkey Day! Hahaha. I decided to cut Richard's scene because I'm debating whether or not I want to go through with that story line. On to other news, I started _another_ fic over at my board. It's a general fic with LL undertones. For those who have been reading _Regret_, I finally updated. And last but not least, an update on "Who should Lori's love interest be?" poll: There's a FOUR way tie as of right now between Dominic Medina, Joey Rygalski, Holden Mariano, and a new character (which the readers get to make up). Come on people. I need your opinion! Even more so, I need your reviews! I'll die without them and that would be bad because I won't be able to finish _The Broken Road_ if I'm dead.**

**One more thing before I go: What do you think is going on between Rory and Jess?**


	14. Liar, Liar

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 14- Liar, Liar**

Logan sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair. He rubbed his face, discovering the stubble growing on his chin. He didn't have much time to shave nowadays thanks to the long hours he would work. He always seemed to be on edge so Lori would do her best to avoid her father. Logan had noticed Lori shudder when he raised his voice once. His own daughter was terrrified of him. Then there was Rory and their constant fighting and her constant illness. In fact, now when he thought about it, she was getting sick a lot lately. Almost every morning for the past four…five days. What if there really was something wrong and she wasn't telling him? Before Logan's mind could ponder anything more, there was a knock at his office door.

"Hey, you busy?" Jass asked as he poked his head into the office.

"Huh? Oh, no. Come in," Logan replied.

Jess walked into the room and put a stack of papers on Logan's desk. "There ya go. I finished the article on the town's anniversary. Phil's covering the Stars Hollow High soccer game. And tomorrow I interview the town baseball team about the big game against Woodbridge in a few weeks." Jess realized Logan seemed to be distracted. "You ok?" he asked as he sat down.

"Yeah. I just have a lot on my mind right now. Rory's been sick lately and she won't let me take her to the doctor."

Jess felt a knot in his stomach. "Did she, uh, tell you why?"

Logan shook his head. "She said she's fine and that it's just the flu."

"Yeah. That's probably it."

"Actually, she's been sick a lot lately."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I assume all day, but I'm only there to witness it in the morning. Then I remembered the flu could be contagious and I don't want the kids getting sick, so I called their grandparents and starting tonight the kids are staying at Luke and Lorelai's until Rory feels better. So now I'm going to see my children a lot less than I used to. If that's even possible."

"Is that all that's bothering you?"

"I wish," Logan laughed.

"Ok, well, we've already broken unspoken rule about men not talking about their feelings with each other. Why stop now?"

Logan played with his wedding ring. "It's nothing really. Rory and I have been having some marital problems. You know how it goes."

"I can faintly remember."

Logan looked up to see the pained look on Jess's face. "Jess, I'm so sorry. I didn't…for a minute there, I forgot…"

"Do worry about it. Sometimes I forget she's gone too, but then I come home to an empty house and go to sleep and wake up alone and it's a cruel reminder that I'm a widower. That my wife was taken away from me."

"How do you do it man?"

"Do what?"

"This. Everything. You work full time and you're raising three boys on your own. I have Rory and I can barely do it."

"I have to do it. My boys need me to." "I haven't taken my wedding ring off since the day it was put on my finger. And yet, here you are, sitting right in front of me, playing with your wedding ring like you plan to take it off." Logan stopped touching the gold band on his finger. "You don't know how lucky you are to still have your wife. You're taking advantage of the fact that your wife is still here. If you keep it up, one day, she won't be. One day, you'll turn around, she'll be gone, and you'll be sorry."

* * *

"I hate school," Lori stated. 

"No you don't," Lena said.

"Fine, I hate Chilton."

"Why?" Emma asked. "You're the one that all the guys are swooning over."

"Guys swoon you…now that Will's no where to be seen."

"And next week I go back to being the invisible girl."

"We can always run a teacher over with Will's car."

"We want him out of Chilton, not in jail."

"Fine. We'll do it your way."

"What about Tyler?" Lena piped in.

Lori and Emma stopped. "What _about _Tyler?" Emma asked.

"I thought he asked you out. And he always talks about you at school and I figured…"

"He talks about me at Stars Hollow High?"

"Yeah…but it's good. I mean, if it was bad, I'd kick his butt. Well, I'd tell him off because I can't kick his butt. But Holden Mariano would."

"Good ol' Holden. I always knew he'd come in handy for butt kicking situations," Emma laughed as she unlocked her front door.

They headed to the livingroom where they found Will reading a book on the couch. He looked up when he heard them enter the room. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked irritably.

"Gee Uncle Will, it's great to see you too. My day was fine, thanks for asking," Lori said sarcastically. Will continued to stare at her. "I'm done now."

"Lighten up Will," Emma said. "Mom said they can come over after school. Besides, Lori's staying with us for a few days."

"Far, far away from your bedroom," Lori added timidly.

"Why?" Will asked.

"Because you scare me?"

"Why are you staying here?"

"What a way to make a girl feel wanted." Will continued his glare. "Wow. Zero to two. Mom's sick and Dad's freaking out we might catch a cold so Hope, Nate, and I are staying here. Is that ok with you your highness? Sorry. Last one. I swear. Sarcasm is out the door."

"Come on Will. Lighten up," Emma said, playfully pushing her brother's arm.

"Leave me alone Emma," Will replied as he went back to his book.

"You need to get out and get laid." Will glanced over his book at Lena and grinned quickly, but stopped before Emma could see. He said nothing to his sister. "You know, you're being really rude. We have guests."

"I said leave me alone Emma."

"Can you at least say hi?"

"I said leave me alone God damn it!"

"What's your problem?"

Will slammed his book and stood up. "You need to stop pushing my buttons Emma."

"You need to get that stick out of your ass."

Will took a deep breath and let out a growl. "You're pushing it Emily. You're fucking pushing it!"

"You know, you've been a real ass lately."

"Do you know what it's like to be stuck in this fucking house all day? Do you know what it's like having Mom and Pops riding your ass all day about stupid shit? I'm going fucking crazy here!"

"Well don't take it out on me ass hole! I'm not the one that was stupid enough to get my ass kicked outta school!"

"I'm not the one stupid enough to get involved with a Doose!"

"He's better than those tramps you make out with behind the basketball courts at school."

Will tried to ignore the pained expression Lena had. "I'm not in the mood to get into this. I'm going to my room. And at least women are interested in me enough to make out with me!"

"Go to hell!"

"Right back at ya!" Will yelled over his shoulder as he headed up the stairs.

Emma loan out a scream when she heard Will slam his door. They had their fair share of sibling rivalry, but they never really got into it like this. Hitting nerves, pushing buttons- it wasn't the way they were. The three girls sat in the living room, each still a little edgy about the events that had happened. Emma was bothered by the fact she and her brother had gotten into a fight. Lena was bugged by the fact that Will had been exposed as a play boy. And Lori was still uncomfortable with being in the same room as Will and Lena at the same time.

Two hours later, Emma, Lori, and Lena were still in the living room watching TV. Emma was still a little angry at her brother for being such a jerk. The three girls turned when they heard someone walk into the room. It was Will. He was in slacks, a dress white shirt, a blazer, and was fixing his tie.

"Pops called," Will informed Emma. "He wants me to head to the diner and then we're going to Hartford for that meeting with the Stileses."

"Have fun," Emma said sarcastically.

"Look, Emma, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up at you the way I did. I'm just tired of being in this house all day and I snapped. So…I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to hate me. I'm just gonna go now." Will turned to leave.

"Will, wait," Emma sighed. He stopped and faced her. She got up and walked over to her brother and straightened out his tie. "I don't hate you. Frustrated at you, yes. But I can't hate you. You're my brother. I knew what would happen if I pushed and I still did. I swear Will, you couldn't dress yourself if your life depended on it. Look at this tie."

"I tried hanging myself but the knot wouldn't stay. I knew I shouldn't have quit the scouts. Ok. I gotta go. Ladies." With a nod of the head, he headed to the door.

"Will," Emma called. "So are we…"

Will put his hand up to silence his sister. "We're good," he interrupted. "Later little sis."

* * *

Lorelai drove around Hartford all morning and most of the afternoon looking for things for Luke's party. All the shops in town were surrounding Luke's and he'd get suspicious if she had seen her, so she had to shop for his party in Hartford. She didn't really mind because it meant she could have lunch with her father. She glanced in her rearview mirror. Richie sat silently in the middle section of their minivan in his car seat as he watched _The Incredibles_ on the portable DVD player. The volume was nearly blaring so she figured Richie had turned the setting on his hearing aide to low again. 

"Are you hungry baby?" Lorelai asked her son as she turned the volume down.

"McDonald's!" Richie yelled. Lorelai tapped on her ear, telling him to turn up his hearing aide.

_McDonald's_, Lorelai spat in her mind. That tasteless fast food joint had nothing on Luke's. going there was like having a food affair.

"We can't have McDonald's. Remember what happened last time we did?"

Luke always knew when they had fast food. He could smell it even if you Febreezed your car, left the windows open as you drove, and put up thirteen air fresheners in the car. The smell of "imitation meat and stale fries," as he put it, was very distinctive to a diner owner. "No real restaurant owner would ever serve crap like that to their customers," he'd then lecture. After the three hour lecture on the disgusting habits of the fast food places Lorelai adored, she gave up on McDonald's, Burger King, Jack in the Box, and those sorts of fast food places.

"We're going to have lunch with Grandpa," Lorelai told her son. Richie scrunched his nose. He knew "lunch with Grandpa" meant lunch at the club. "I know how you feel kiddo. Ok, we just need to pick up your medicine at the hospital and then we're off to the club."

"Daddy!" Richie yelled happily as Lorelai drove toward the front of the hospital.

"No sweetie. We're having lunch at the club, not the diner," Lorelai said.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Richie started to bounce in his seat as he pointed out his window.

"Daddy? What are you talking about? Richie, Daddy's..." Lorelai trailed off as she watched Luke walk out of the hospital. "Daddy?"

"Mommy, I wanna see Daddy!"

"Ok, sweetie, in a minute."

"What's Daddy doing here?"

"Good question. Let's go ask him." Lorelai pulled into the first parking spot she could find and took Richie out of his car seat. She held his hand as they headed toward Luke. "Hey."

Luke looked up and stopped in his tracks. "Lorelai," he said in surprise. Richie ran over to his father and jumped into his arms. "What…what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Lorelai said. "We're picking up Richie's medicine. What's your story?"

"I, uh, need to pick something up." _Great lie_, he said sarcastically to himself mentally. _She really doesn't suspect a thing! Idiot._

"At the hospital?"

"Oh. No. Um, I was in the neighborhood so I had lunch with Paris."

"You're terrified of Paris."

"I know, but she's Rory's friend and we're supposed to like Rory's friends."

"Uh huh. Try again."

"I really was having lunch with Paris. You can even ask her."

"You came all the way to Hartford to have lunch with our daughter's friend who terrifies you?"

_Just tell her already!_ Luke took a deep breath. "No. That's not all."

"Luke, honey, is something wrong? You're really worrying me."

He opened his mouth to speak, but the words he had planned to come out weren't the ones he heard himself saying. "I paid for the operation."

"What?" Lorelai asked.

_Tell her you idiot! Don't chicken out! _"Richie's operation. I came to let the doctor know we were going to go through with it and I dropped off a check for a partial payment."

"Where did you get the money?"

"Max."

"Max? Max Medina? You asked _our friend_ for money?"

"No! He offered it."

"So you just took it?"

"I told him I'd coach the Chilton baseball team." _What the hell are you doing? Stop lying! You have a sickness! Lying is only going to make things worse! _"He said he'd loan me the money if I coached the team."

"The Chilton team sucks. Will won't even play for their team."

"Exactly. I mean, since I started coaching the town's team five years ago, we've won the tri-county title every year. Max thought I could turn Chilton's team around."

"You should have just told me. I was worried about you."

"There's nothing to worry about honey. I was just dropping off the check. I'm fine." _Liar! You're going to hell._

"Ok. Well, Richie and I are here to pick up his medicine and then we're gonna go to have lunch with Grandpa." Richie scrunched his nose and buried his face in Luke's shoulder. "Richard Charles Danes, you're not getting out of this. You're Mommy's buffer."

"Wonderful to know you're using our son to hide from your father."

"I'm a genius aren't I?"

"Sure. Let's call it that," Luke teased. He handed Richie to Lorelai.

"Hey, what's that?" Lorelai asked, noticing the brown bag in Luke's hand for the first time.

"This? Oh. It's…um…leftovers." _And the lies don't stop._ "Healthy stuff. You wouldn't like it. Uh, so I'll see you tonight for dinner at the Stiles's?"

"Urgh. Don't remind me. Bye babe." Lorelai gave Luke a quick kiss on the lips.

"Bye." Luke waved to his wife and son as they headed to the hospital entrance. He opened his brown bag and sighed at the numerous medicine bottles it contained. It was going to be harder to keep this from her now. He took out his phone and dialed a familiar number. "Max,I have to coach Chilton's baseball team. It's a long story."

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Sookie catches Luke taking his medicine. A young man in Stars Hollw begins to show his interest in Lori. Travis Doose begs Luke and Lorelai to help him with the new town event. Richard meets up with his new secretary at Emma and Lori's softball game._**

**A/N: I decided to go with Richard's story line, but you guys have to promise not to hate me. And as you can tell, Lori's "love interest" has been chosen. I'm sorry it took so long to update. Life is still hectic. But I'll be working on an update for _The Broken Road _so no pitchforks please. Alright everyone. From my family to yours, I wish you a happy and safe holiday, which ever you celebrate. Merry Chrismakkah! Lol.**


	15. Ignorance is Bliss

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 15- Ignorance is Bliss**

Josh Mellville went around the diner, clearing the tables of empty plates and cups. On the days Caesar, Luke, and Lane were working, he and Will were there to clear off tables and refill drinks. He heard Luke tell Caesar he'd be right back. In the corner of his eye, he watched Luke disappear behind the curtain. Josh looked up when he heard the bells above the door jingle, hoping it would be a certain young lady walking into her grandpa's diner for lunch, but it wasn't. In fact it was the opposite. It was his mom and she was carrying a tray with seven different types of slices of cake.

"Luke!" Sookie called as she ran to the counter. "Luke, get your butt out here right now!"

"Aunt Sookie?" Will called as he walked out of the storeroom.

"Wrong Luke. I'm looking for the big one. Tall, flannel shirt, backwards baseball cap, fifty-five years old, nice butt…"

"Ah jeez," Will groaned.

"What? Hey, you inherited your dad's butt. It's a nice butt!"

"Mom, what have I told you about staring at my friends' butts? It's creepy," Josh said as he walked over to Sookie.

"I'm just saying Will has Luke's butt." She turned to Will. "If your dad's butt is any indication of what you're butt's gonna look like in forty years, be happy knowing it's not gonna drop."

"Mom!"

"Hey, is that cake?" Will said reaching out to taste the cake. Sookie slapped his hand before he could taste it.

"Oh no you don't. These are for your father," Sookie scolded.

"My dad hates cake."

"Tough luck. He has to make a decision."

"For what?"

"For the cake."

"What cake?"

"The one I'm making for his party."

"You mean the party he's not supposed to know about?" Josh asked.

"That's right, it's supposed to be a surprise," Sookie said. "Ah shoot. Maybe I can tell him it's for a birthday party. Oh! It's for Will's birthday party."

"My birthday was like four months ago Aunt Sookie," Will remarked.

"Well, then, I'll make something up. Where is he?" Will shrugged. "Josh?"

"I think he's upstairs, but…" Before Josh could finish his sentence, Sookie interrupted him.

"Thanks. I'll be right back," she said disappearing behind the curtain. "And don't eat the cake!"

She headed up the stairs to Luke's old apartment. "Luke, are you up…" Sookie trailed off when she saw Luke put pills in his mouth and wash them down with some water.

Luke immediately backed to the counter hiding the medicine bottles from Sookie's view, then swiping them into the top drawer and leaning against that drawer. "Sookie, I didn't hear you come up," he said nervously.

She raised a brow as she walked further into the apartment. "What did you just do?"

"Huh? Nothing."

"You just put a bunch of pills in your mouth. And now you're hiding something."

"Sookie, I'm not…"

"You are! Yes you are! Lorelai maybe denying it, but I know there's something up!"

Maybe it was his new medication, but he didn't seem to have the energy to fight or lie today. But he wasn't about to admit it either. He knew he was only trying to convince himself. If he didn't talk about it, acted like there was nothing wrong, then maybe it'd go away. But the shooting pains in his chest at two in the morning said otherwise. He was deep in thought and off guard, so Sookie took this as her opportunity to push Luke away from the counter.

"Sookie!" Luke yelled as he stumbled a little. He slowly headed over to Sookie, trying to stop her from discovering his secret. "Sookie, don't…" Too late.

Sookie read from the labels. "Take two tablets, three times a day for…" she trailed off when she saw the last word. She slowly looked up at Luke, who had hung his head again._ No_, she tole herself. She must have read wrong or something. She frantically searched each label hoping to see something different, but each said they were for angina, helping keep the heart rate normal, blood pressure, and things like that.

"You have…" Sookie was interrupted when Luke spoke.

"Coronary heart disease," Luke said.

"But…how? You're the healthiest person I know!"

Luke shrugged. "Some people just get all the luck."

"Oh my God. Lorelai, must be a wreck. She sure knows how to hide it though." Sookie put the bottles on the counter and headed for the door. "I better go talk to…"

"She doesn't know.

Sookie froze and faced Luke. "Excuse me?"

"Lorelai doesn't know." Sookie walked swiftly over to Luke and started punching his arm. "Hey! What the hell? Stop that! Ah! Sookie! Have you lost your mind?"

"Have _I_ lost my mind? _You_ are the one that lost your mind! Luke! How can you not have told Lorelai? Lorelai, your _wife!"_

"How the hell am I supposed to tell my wife that I'm gonna die?" Sookie just stared at Luke. He took a deep breath and dropped his head. "Look Sookie, I know this is big and I know I have to tell Lorelai." Sookie opened her mouth to speak, but Luke wouldn't let her. "_But_ I can't right now. She's happy Sookie. Will hasn't gotten into any trouble lately, Rory and Logan haven't had a big fight in a week, Richard's getting back on his feet, Richie's having his operation, and I just got that position on the board of elders. She's finally healing from Emily's death. I can't drop this on her now. Please Sookie. Don't tell her. Promise me you won't tell Lorelai."

"Tell me what?" Lorelai asked as she walked into the room.

* * *

Lori Huntzberger was beautiful. She was tall, slender, slightly tanned, and well developed in all the right places- even at the age of fourteen. She inherited her grandmother's bright smile and even though it was biologically impossible, she firmly believed she received an athletic gene from Luke because God knows Logan and Rory didn't have an athletic bone in their bodies. She was built like an athlete. She had her father's blonde hair and her mother's infamous Gilmore blue eyes. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Lori Huntzberger was beautiful. Heads turned every time she and/or Emma passed by. 

When guys first meet the "Glamourous Gilmores," they wonder why they're still single. Then they meet Will and it becomes all too clear. With him around, no man in their right mind would dare ask the girls out. But there are some guys that just don't know how to give up.

Lori walked into the music store and waved hello to Dave. "Morning Mr. Rygalski," she smiled.

"Good morning Lori," Dave greeted. "I see you have a softball game today."

"Yup. I'm about to head to the diner for Grandpa's traditional pre-pep talk pep talk. I just stopped by to pick up some CDs first."

"Aren't you guys playing Litchfield today?" Joey asked as he walked out of the back.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I heard they got better since last year. Rumor has it they've been practicing year round."

Lori groaned. "Gee thanks Joey. I don't think I need Grandpa's pre-pep talk pep talk now. I think I need a prayer. I'm gonna go get my CDs or are you gonna drop another bomb on me?"

"This probably isn't the best time to tell you but we're no longer a music store. We're sell vitamins and supplements for now on."

"Ha, ha, ha. You're a regular Jerry Lewis. I'm looking for a Michael Bublé CD. Got any?"

"Check the jazz section. We also got in that Fall Out Boy CD you were looking for last week. Kept a copy in the back for ya. I'll bring it out when I ring you up."

"Thanks Joey. I'm loving ya baby. Statue's going up tomorrow."

Joey laughed. "Let me know when you're ready." He watched as Lori disappeared around the corner. He turned his head to find his father staring at him with a smirk. "What?"

"I'm not stupid. I know what's going on," Dave smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on Joey. I saw the way you were looking at her."

Joey shook his head and picked up another box of CDs. "Well, maybe you outta get your eyes checked Dad because there was nothing going on."

"I don't blame you son. She's a good looking girl."

"You talking about Lori Huntzberger?" Dominic asked.

"No," Joey replied quickly.

"Hey, I don't blame you. She's a real looker, but she's not my type. Just ask my girlfriend."

"I don't got a thing for Lori," Joey stated. "Besides, not like it matters. Looks like she's got her eye on someone." Joey pointed down one of the aisles where Lori was talking to someone.

"Lucky bastard," Dominic laughed. "I'm not surprised. With their families' history, it was bound to happen." He shook his head and turned his attention to Joey, who began to ring him up.

Meanwhile, across the store, Lori was looking through the CDs when someone walked up to her from behind. "His other CD is better," a male voice said, making her jump a little.

"Ah!" she gasped. She turned around to see who it was. "You scared the ba geezes outta me!"

"The ba geezes? Your _papaw_ isn't here Huntzberger. You can say what you wanna."

Lori smiled innocently. "Don't mock my grandfather Holden."

"I'm not mocking him. I'm mocking you."

"Bye Holden." Lori tried to walk past Holden, but he caught her arm.

"Ok, ok. I'll stop. Jeez Huntzberger, I was just kidding around. Why do you have to take things so seriously all the time? Would it kill you to lighten up?"

"Would it kill you to take things seriously once and a while?"

"I don't see how we're not friends Lori. Our folks are great buddies."

"Simple. You're a butt faced miscreant and your dad is a really nice guy."

"Did you just call me a butt faced miscreant?"

Lori rolled her eyes. "I'm late for my pre-pep talk pep talk with Grandpa."

"Why do you call Luke 'Grandpa'? He's not really your grandfather. He's not related to you."

"One of us needs to know we're proud to have him a part of this family. He's your great uncle Holden and you just haphazardly throw around his name like it's nothing. Like he's nothing."

"Hey, Luke means a lot to me and my dad and my brothers…"

"And that's why your dad's been avoiding him since your mom died?"

"Don't talk about my mother!" Everyone in the store stopped what they were doing and stared at the two teenagers. Holden hadn't realized how loud, or forceful, he had been until he saw the frightened look in Lori's eyes. "Ah jeez. I'm sorry Lori. I didn't mean to…"

"No," Lori interrupted. "I shouldn't have brought up your mother. I'm just…I'm gonna go now."

Lori headed to the counter with her CD and Holden right behind her. Joey timidly rang up her CDs. "Your total is twenty eight seventy six," Joey said.

Before Lori could get out her wallet, holden put money on the counter. "I got it," he said.

"You really don't have to," Lori said.

"Yeah, well it's the least I can do for scaring the ba geezes outta ya."

Lori lowered her head and smiled. "Thanks. Well, I have to go. Luke's waiting for me. I'll see you gentlemen later." Dave, Joey, and Dominic waved goodbye to Lori as she turned and headed to the door.

"Hey Lori," Holden called as she was about to walk out the door. She stopped and faced him. "Tell your grandfather I say hi."

Lori smiled. "I sure will." With that and one last goodbye wave, she was gone.

"That Lori Huntzberger is one fine woman," Joey said as they watched Lori cross the street.

"I hate to see her go," Dominic sighed.

"Yeah, but I love to watch her leave," Holden laughed.

* * *

"Just keep your head in the game," Luke told Emma and Lori. "They're gonna try to shake you up by talking crap, but do not let it get to you. Stay focused and pay no attention to anyone else but your coach and your team mates. Win or lose, I'll be proud of you two." 

"And you two are looking very gorgeous in those uniforms," Lorelai added. "The blue goes great with your eyes." Luke shot his wife a glare, warning her not to mock him- as she always did when he gave his little talks. "What? They do? And they're advertising the diner. Even better."

"You love the uniforms because you picked them out," Emma teased as she slung her gear bag over her shoulder.

Lorelai pretended to be hurt. "Ouch. Whatever happened to solidarity?"

"Sorry Nana, but Papaw feeds us," Lori joked. "Besides, it's his turn to win."

"Ok, you two, scoot," Luke said to the two girls. "Get outta here before you're late."

"Going, going, gone!" Emma laughed as she and Lori left and headed to the softball field.

"Why must you question my authority in front of the girls?" Lorelai asked.

"What!" Luke laughed. "I'm not the one that questions authority! You do."

"Do not!"

"Oh? What about last week when Lana asked if she could go to that boy's birthday party? I said no and you under minded me and told her she could go."

"So there was that once…"

"Or the time you let Emma buy that two hundred dollar dress that she only wore once after I specifically said she couldn't because it was too expensive?"

"Ok…"

"_Or_ the time Will was supposed to help me replace the shingles on the roof and you told him he could go out with his friends? Oh! And I remember a certain someone knocking down the ladder and not telling me, stranding me on the roof for three hours."

"Ok, ok! I get it. Jeez, when are you gonna quit crying about that already?"

"When you build a time machine and tell Will to help me on the damn roof and then off the damn roof after you knocked over the ladder."

Just then, Travis Doose came running frantically into the diner. "Luke! Lorelai! Thank God you're here!" he said as he ran over to them. "I need your help."

"If it's help with getting you checked into a mental institution, I'm there!" Luke joked.

"I'm serious."

"The sad thing is, so is he," Lorelai laughed. "What can we do for you Travis?"

"Well as you may have heard, we've come up with a new town event…"

"Oh joy. Here we go!" Luke said rolling his eyes.

"Luke, be nice!" Lorelai scolded. "Go on Travis."

"Well, I'm having a slight problem. We have no performances," Travis said. "Everyone that signed up for the battle of the bands backed out. They just wanted the damn trophies."

"Well, duh."

"Well, it's no secret that the members if the Danes family are quite the performers…"

"What are you getting at Doose?" Luke asked.

"I need you guys to perform."

"No."

"What? Luke! Come on!"

"No."

"Just one song. A duet. The two of you. The town would love it!"

"Who here heard me say 'no'?"

"Luke, I don't think you understand…"

"No, I don't think _you_ understand," Luke interrupted. "Your uncle is a pioneer in this town and you treated with no respect. The man wanted one more thing to leave his mark before he officially retired, but you couldn't let him have it."

"I didn't realize you were such a big fan of my uncle's."

"I'm not. I just hate you more."

Travis leaned over the counter and spoke in a loud whisper. "As the head town elder, you have a responsibility to the town!"

"Yes and this is not one of them."

"Travis, would you excuse us please?" Lorelai asked as she grabbed Luke by the arm and dragged him into the storage room.

"Lorelai, we can't do that now. The diner's full of people," Luke remarked.

"One, dirty. Two, that's not what I brought you in here for, but it gave me an idea for later…"

"Can we move this along please? Me, diner, customers."

"I think we should do it."

"What! Have you lost your mind? I'm not helping out with that own flip out."

"You already beat him. You have the title he wants. There's no reason to add insult to injury."

"But…"

"Besides," Lorelai interrupted as she played with the buttons on Luke's flannel shirt. "I think you have a very sexy singing voice."

A smile crept across Luke's face. "Yeah?"

"Uh huh. It really turns me on. Come on Lukey. Let him have this one little, itty, bitty thing. I promise I'll make it worth your while."

Luke sighed. "Fine. He can have this _one_ thing."

Lorelai gave him a quick kiss on the lips and pulled him back out to the diner. "I have to go, but Travis, I believe my husband has something to say to you." She turned to Luke. "Play nice. I love you." She kissed him again before heading toward the door.

Luke cleared his throat. "I know it's eating you up inside to know that Taylor decided to hand this prestigious position over to me, so I'm gonna be a nice guy and give you this _one_ thing. My wife and I will perform _one_ song." Lorelai mouthed a 'thank you' before leaving. "Now if you'd excuse me Mr. Doose, I have a diner full of customers to serve before watching my girls lead this town's softball team to another championship."

* * *

Richard sat at the top of the bleachers as he always did at the games. He liked to get a clear view of the field to be able to see everything. Lorelai and the rest of the family, on the other hand, sat as close to the field as they could. Luke liked to be close. Dean liked having him close. Dean was the softball team's coach and Luke would give him coaching tips during the game. But there was no Luke in sight today and Dean was frantically pacing in the bullpen. 

Richard had accidentally scheduled an interview for his secretary position during the softball game. He left a note for his applicant on the door for her to meet him at the game, leaving very specific directions to where he would be (after all, he sat in the same spot at every game). A few innings, a very frantic Dean, and no Luke later a young woman made her way up the bleachers toward Richard.

"Richard Gilmore?" she called.

Richard pried his eyes away from the game. "Yes?" he asked, looking up at the woman. The woman held up the note left for her on the door. "Ah, yes. You must be my three o'clock appointment for the secretary job."

"Yes I am."

"Well, by all means, have a seat."

She smiled and sat beside Richard. "Mr. Gilmore, I just wanted to tell you that this is a great honor sir. You are a very respected man in the insurance business and…and it's just an honor to be sitting here with you with the chance to work for you."

"It's always nice to hear praise. Now, why don't we get right down to it then? I asked my daughter to go through the applications and she told me that yours stood out a great deal. I have review your application and it is very impressive young lady."

"Why thank you Mr. Gilmore."

"You have a lot of potential and I'd be happy to have you working for me."

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

"Thank you Mr. Gilmore! You won't be sorry!"

"I certainly hope not," Richard laughed. "You'll start Monday morning. Our office space, although, is still being renovated so everything hasn't been organized just yet. My daughter will be throwing her husband a party of some sort and I am requesting your presence. You may bring whomever you choose. Now, do you have any questions?"

"Just one. No offense sir, but why did you ask me to meet you here?"

"Well, as an old man, I tend to lose track of things. I had completely forgot that today was the big game! My granddaughter and great granddaughter play for the Stars Hollow softball team."

"Oh? Which ones are they?"

"Danes and Huntzberger. The pitcher and shortstop. Oh. Good, my son in law finally showed up. He coaches the baseball team and the softball coach."

Her gaze followed to where he was pointing. It was him. They could hear Lorelai scolding Luke for being late and Luke responding, in his dull, monosyllable tone, that he had a packed diner he couldn't get away from. He kissed his wife and took a seat beside her.

"I…I gotta go," Richard's new secretary said as she stood and gathered her things.

"Oh. Alright then. It was a pleasure meeting you…" Richard trailed off when the woman's name escaped his memory. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name."

"April. My name is April Nardini."

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway": Luke and Lorelai take Richie to the hospital for his operation. Tristin taunts Rory about her pregnancy. Emma finds out that Will threatened Tyler and goes to confront her brother. But what she finds is something no one expected._**

**A/N: I know you're all probably throwing stuff at your screen and hating me right now for bringing April into the story, but just stay with me here. Let it play out. I've got plans for her and they may or may not be what you think. Ironically, my writer's block was suddenly gone on the night that the evil people in charge of _Gilmore Girls_ decided to bring in Anna Nardini. Coincidence? Maybe. I'll have the update for _the Broken Road _up ASAP. Deleted scenes will be posted by the end of tomorrow. You may now return to your regularly scheduled program.**


	16. Like Father, Like Daughter

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.**

**Chapter 16- Like father, like daughter**

It's instinct for a mother to be afraid for her children's well-being. It was natural for her to want to protect them from any harm and take the pain away with a simple kiss on their boo-boo. But today, no amount of kisses or his or toys would help Lorelai. Today her son, her little baby boy, was being wheeled into an operating room. She sat in the waiting room beside her husband clutching Richie's favorite teddy bear- the one with the broken ear.

When Richie was two years old, Luke took him to the toy store to buy any toy he wanted. They had been searching for nearly fifteen minutes when they came across the damaged teddy bear. Its ear was torn from the edge half way in. The other children would push the poor bear out of the way in search of a "perfect" one.

"_Luke," Lorelai scolded, "it's ripped!"_

"_I can see that Lorelai. He wanted that one. I tried to get him to pick another one. Harry gave me a discount for it. He likes it and that's what matters right?."_

_Lorelai sighed and bent forward so she was eye level with Richie. "Sweetie, do you want Momma to fix your bear's ear?" she asked and signed at the same time._

_Richie's eyes widened as he clutched the bear for dear life. "No fix!" he yelled._

"_Son, his ear's broken. Momma can fix it for you," Luke said and signed._

"_No fix! No fix!"_

_Lorelai sighed and stood. "He's not going to give me the bear is he?"_

"_Nope."_

"_Why does he insist on having a broken teddy bear? You couldn't you switch it with a normal one when he wasn't looking?"_

"_He would have noticed. The bear's ear is sliced."_

_Luke felt a tugging on his pant leg and looked down. Richie looked up at his father with his bright blue eyes. "Teddy broken Poppa," the little boy said._

"_I kn…" Luke was interrupted by his son._

"_Like me." Luke and Lorelai froze. "See. Teddy ear broken and my ear broked too. He no hear good like me. No one like Teddy because he broked, but I like Teddy."_

Lorelai shut her eyes as the memory floated through her mind. Richie had always been a bright child. In something as innocent as picking out a new toy, he had seen the cruelty of the world. He, like the teddy bear, was "damaged." He too was treated differently. People were cautious around the little boy and he received "special treatment." His parents tried to steer clear of such ways, but at times would accidentally treat him differently. What Richie did that day in the toy store was what very few adults could do, he chose the imperfection and saw it as perfect.

Luke put his hand over his wife's and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "He's gonna be fine," he said. "Whether this operation is a success or not, he's perfect. He always has been and he always will be."

"I know," Lorelai said with a sniffle. "I just…"

"I know. So am I. But we need to believe everything's going to be ok." Luke held Lorelai as she began to cry. "Lorelai, there's something I need to tell you."

Lorelai looked up at Luke. She could tell by the tone of his voice, it was serious. "What is it?"

"Lorelai, I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now."

"Honey, whatever it is you can just tell me. You shouldn't be afraid to tell me."

"I know. It's just…" Luke took a deep breath. "Ok. Um. Lorelai, I have…"

Right that second, Dr. Moore walked into the waiting room. "Mr. and Mrs. Danes?" he called, unknowingly interrupting Luke. Luke and Lorelai stood.

"Is everything ok? Did something happen to Richie?" Lorelai asked, holding onto her husband for dear life.

"Everything's fine," Dr. Moore smiled. "The operation was a success." Luke and Lorelai both let out a sigh of relief. "His eardrum was repaired and should be functioning properly. Now he's going to have to stay here overnight for observation, but he'll be able to go home in the morning. The noise needs to be minimal. He'll need time for getting used to the new volume level. He'll also need to stay at home until the end of the week."

"Oh he won't be happy about that," Luke laughed. "He loves going to preschool."

"Can we see him?" Lorelai asked.

"In a minute," Dr. Moore replied. "They're just getting him settled into a room and you'll be able to see your son. He'll be in room 304. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call."

"We will. Thank you Dr. Moore," Luke said, shaking the doctor's hand.

Luke and Lorelai headed down the hall toward their son's room. Just as they were about to walk into the room, Lorelai stopped. "Wait," she said, grabbing Luke's hand and turning to him.

"What? I thought you were excited about seeing Richie."

"I am. I forgot. Weren't you going to tell me something?"

Luke had completely forgotten he was planning on telling Lorelai of his heart condition. He smiled sweetly at his wife. "It doesn't matter," he said.

"You sure?" He smiled and nodded. She gave him a quick kiss. "Ok. Let's go see our baby."

Luke allowed Lorelai to drag him into the room as that damn voice in the back of his mind nagged at him, repeating those three word: _Just tell her.

* * *

_

Rory pushed the stroller with a sleeping Nathan down the path to the park and Hope and Lana run in front of her. "Girls, don't run too far!" she called out to her daughter and sister. Once Rory settled herself and Nathan on a bench, she turned to the girls. "Ok. Go ahead and go play. Stay where I can see you." 

Hope and Lana giggled and ran off to the jungle gym. Rory smiled as she watched the girls catch up to their friends and jump and play around. She looked into the stroller to make sure Nate was still sleeping. She took out her book and started reading.

She would look up to every five minutes to make sure Hope and Lana were safe and still in sight. She'd make sure Nathan was still asleep and comfortable before going back to her book. Suddenly there was an overcast, blocking the sunlight from her book. She looked up and sighed when she saw Tristin.

"Do you mind moving? You're blocking my light," she stated.

"Lovely day don't you think?" he asked, completely ignoring her request.

"Tristin, you're blocking my light."

"It's been nearly…what…twenty-one years?"

"What do you want Tristin?"

"You haven't changed much have you? Still got your nose stuck in a book."

"And yours is still stuck up your…"

"I'm hurt. We haven't seen each other in two decades and I don't even get a 'hey, how ya doin?'. This hostility doesn't suit you."

"It hasn't been two decades. We saw each other last weekend remember? I kicked you out of my parents' house."

"Your parents. Oh that's right. Your mom married that guy that works at the diner."

"My _dad owns_ the diner."

"Your _dad_," Tristin laughed. "That's cute." He peered into the stroller at Nathan. "Cute kid."

By now, Rory was very annoyed with Tristin. "Tristin…"

"I'm sure the diner man really like you calling him 'dad' even though you're not his kid. I wonder if your husband will feel the same way about your next kid."

Rory's head snapped up and she stared at Tristin with a shocked expression. "What did you s…"

"I always knew some things would never change, but this… this is a major change. I never, in my wildest dreams did I think you would be so scandalous."

Rory immediately started gathering her things. She looked toward the play structure for Hope and Lana. "Hope! Lana! It's time to go!" she yelled.

"But _Mom_! We're still playing!" Hope whined.

"Yeah _Mom_, they're still playing," Tristin taunted.

"Shut up Tristin!" Rory spat. "Hope! Lana! It's time to go! Now!"

"I never thought you of all people would be one cheating on your husband."

Rory froze. "What?"

Tristin took a step closer to Rory and spoke in a low voice. "Don't play dumb Rory. I overheard you and the diner man's nephew. You told _him_ about the pregnancy first. You went to _him_ to be comforted. You asked _him_ to go with you to your appointment. Now why would you ask another man, a recent widower, to accompany you when your husband could take you?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh I think I do. I wonder what Logan would think of this. I always thought he was supposed to be the playboy. But Rory Huntzberger, his beloved trophy wife, is the one having an affair."

"An aff…"

"Hey guys," Dean interrupted as he came down the path with Oliver. "Hey Ollie, why don't you go run off and play with Lana and Hope?"

"Yes Uncle Dean," Oliver said before running off.

"Cute kid huh? Lindsey and Joan were really close. Jess and his boys are practically family." Dean took a step closer to Tristin with a threatening glare. "Took me a while to realize it, but Jess is a good guy and Rory's an honest woman. If you continue to try to ruin their good names, you're gonna find yourself in some big trouble."

"You're threatening me? You gotta be kidding me," Tristin laughed.

"Do you really want a man like Luke Danes coming after you welding a sledge hammer? I think it's time for you to go Tristin."

After a few moments, Tristin took two steps backwards before turning around and heading down the path. Rory let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Dean, thank you so much," Rory thanked, putting her hand on Dean's arm. "I owe you."

"Don't worry about it," Dean said, not looking up at her. "I should get Oliver home."

She knew what he was thinking. He had heard what Tristin said- well, enough to ruin her reputation as a faithful wife. She caught his arm and stopped him from walking away. "Dean, about what Tristin said, it's…"

He put up a hand to silence her. "You don't have to explain it to me."

"But De…"

"Seriously. I don't wanna know. Oliver! Come on! Your dad's waiting for you!" Oliver ran back over to Dean. "See you later Rory."

"Dean…" Rory didn't even get to finish her sentence. Dean was already headed down the path with Oliver. It was a mighty deep hole being buried for her. This situation was ready to blow up in her face and chances were, it was going to be very messy. Well, like father, like daughter.

* * *

Emma and Lori stepped off the bus listening to Will chatter on and on about how happy he was to be back at school. 

"Gee Will, are you happy your suspension is over?" Lori teased.

"I never would have guessed!" Emma laughed.

"Hey, you were stuck in that house with Mom and Dad for two weeks, you'd be doing the same thing," Will said. "You guys know what you're singing for that concert Doose's putting on?"

"I was thinking the small world song," Lori joked.

"I've got the Crazy Frog down to a notch!" Emma joked.

"Fine, mock me," Will said walking faster.

"Ok, ok, we're sorry," Lori laughed as they caught up with Will.

"We won't mock," Emma said. "I'm not sure what I'm singing."

"I've got a few ideas in my head but not all necessarily about this concert thing." Will and Emma stared at their niece. "What can I say? I am my grandmother's granddaughter."

"Yeah, you are," Will said. "Coffee addicted."

"Always hungry," Emma added.

"Hyperactive."

"Paranoid at times."

"Crazy."

"Ok so it's ok to mock me?" Lori interrupted.

Emma and Will started to crack up. "Ah come on Lor, you know we're just joking," Will laughed putting his arm around his niece. He glanced at his watch.

"Hey guys," Lena greeted with a smile as she walked up to her friends. "Oh Will, do you have that book I was asking you about the other day?"

"Yeah. It's somewhere in my house. Swing by later and I'll find it for you," Will replied

Lori had known about Will and Lena for a week and she already picked up on their signals and this was one of them. She suddenly felt nauseous.

"Lori? What's wrong? You look sick," Emma remarked.

"I'm fine. Just my stomach," Lori replied.

Will glanced at his watch. "Ah jeez. I gotta get to the diner. Hopefully Lane won't tell Dad I was late…again," he said. "Alright ladies. I will see you later." With that, Will headed to the diner.

The three girls headed down the street toward Lori's house.

"I love how the guys at Chilton started treating us like lepers again," Emma laughed.

"I know! Stupid Will. He just _had_ to come back to school," Lori joked.

"He did say he was really bored being stuck at home," Lena remarked.

"He was," Emma admitted. "And when he wasn't at home, he had to be at the diner. With Dad. All d…" Emma suddenly trailed off.

"Em?" Lori called. She saw Emma's face had gone pale. "Em, what's wr…" Lori looked across the street to see what had stricken her aunt. Tyler Doose was across the street…holding Terri Banyon's- the Banyon boys' only sister and Emma's worst enemy- hand.

"Emma, I'm sorry," Lena said. "It only happened today. I didn't…I wasn't sure how to tell you. She found out you turned him down and she pounced on him."

"We can use Grandpa's truck to run her over. We can run him over too," Lori said, half-joking.

Emma wasn't sure if she was angry or if she was sad. No more than a week ago, Tyler had been following her around and had asked her out. He starts acting like a jerk, she calls him on it, and suddenly he's with another girl? It didn't make sense to Emma. Now she was mad. No. She wasn't mad. She was furious. Damn boys. Liars. That's what they were. The only men she could trust were the ones she was related to.

Then it hit her. A brilliant plan for her to get back at Tyler and let him know what an asshole he really was. She needed to get back at that bitch too. And she knew just the way to do it. She quickly turned on her heel and headed to the diner with Lori and Lena right behind her.

"Emma," Lori called. She saw the look in Emma's eye. She knew that look. It was the look that said 'I'm gonna make them pay.' "Emma."

"Emma, calm down," Lena said. "We know your mad, but you don't wanna do something you're going to regret."

"I'm not going to regret this at all," Emma said as they walked into the diner. "Will!"

Will looked up from behind the counter. "Em? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. Lori pointed out the window toward Tyler and Terri. Will instantly knew what was wrong. "Ah jeez sis. I'm sorry. If there's something I can do, let me know. You deserve better than that jerk."

Will hadn't noticed Lena and Lori motioning him not to offer to help until it was too late. The smirk across Emma's face told him he shouldn't have.

"Actually big brother," Emma said. "there is something you can help me out with."

* * *

**_Next time on "Breakaway":  
_****_Holden to Lorelai: I need to talk to someone and I didn't know who else to go to.  
_**_**Lorelai: What's wring?  
**__**Holden: It's about Dad**_

_**Luke to April: You must be Richard's new assistant. I'm Luke.  
**__**April: April Nardini.**_

_**Will to Emma: Sometimes I feel like I'm expected to live like this.  
**__**Emma: Like what?  
**__**Will: Like Dad. You and I- we're never gonna be our own person. We're always going to live in Mom and Dad's shadow.**_

**A/N: I decided to change the Emma-Tyler part. I wanted to wait on that story line and go ahead with another. It's gonna start picking up from here and I warn you, Will's going to become a real jerk in the next few chapters. And Luke's only going to get worse.**


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